Negawakuha
by Sorceress Aeris
Summary: Complete A story of Love, Life, and Death. Join Avalanche as they journey to defeat three great evils with new friends and old foes.
1. Chapter 1: Visions

Negawakuha (I pray)  
  
by: ~Goddess Aeris~  
  
prologue:  
  
It has been one month since Meteor and the final battle with Sephiroth. Avalanche has moved into the villa at Costa del Sol. Everyone mourns the loss of Aeris and thanks her for giving them all Hope. Especially me. Lately, I have have been having visions of her and people I have never seen in my life. I sense that something is amiss...horribly wrong... Cloud has recruited two of the best fighters on the planet as new Avalanche members. They are my friend, Brandy McCarty and myself. I am Danielle Gast, this is my story...  
  
Chapter 1 Visions (Tuesday, 2:00 PM) The tall brunette stood in front of her mirror brushing out her waist length dark brown hair. She wore a white tanktop and brown shorts. Someone knocked on her door. "Come on in, Danielle!" she said. I walked in, my long chocolate brown hair flowing over my shoulders and down my back. "Hey Tifa, the girls and I are going to the beach. Wanna come?" Tifa nodded. I wore a dark pink halter top, jeans, and leather boots. Yuffie and little Marlene met us at the front door. "Let's go!" Tifa smiled and grasped the little girl's hand as they walked down the street. When we hit the sand, Marlene and Yuffie went to play in the water as Tifa and I changed into our swimsuits. When we came out, we saw my best friend and ex-turk, Brandy McCarty, in her red bikini talking to Rufus. He had secretly admired her for a long time and now they were a couple. I smiled at Tifa and we sat in some chairs to catch some rays. After about 30 minutes, we heard a roar from the sea. A giant sea worm emerged from the waves. Everyone began running back toward the town. Yuffie told Marlene to run and got her Conformer. Rufus got his shotgun, Brandy her Shuurai (fire) whip, Tifa got her Premium Heart, and I got my 'Hand of Life' Masamune. The sea worm roared and the battle was on. Rufus fired his shotgun at the monster but it had little effect. As he began to power up a spell, the worm's tail slammed into him and sent him flying into a wall. "Rufus!" shouted Brandy,"F^%$ you! Burning Rage!" She charged up her whip with the power of fire and whipslashed it many times. It roared again as I pulled out a green materia and tossed it to Brandy. "Thanks Danni!" She knelt by Rufus' side and cured him. I jumped up and slashed at the worm's head but it's tail slammed into me and sent me flying at the sea wall. I was aware of someone having caught me before I fell unconsious. ***** "Ultima!" shouted Yuffie, a green materia glowing in her Conformer. An explosion, like an atom bomb, struck the creature and it roared in pain. The sea worm fell dead in the waves. Everyone turned to see the silver haired man who had caught me and the other two people who stood on both sides of him. "It can't be..." said Tifa. "I told you I'd come back when it was all over! Where's Cloud? I need to talk to him," said the woman smiling. Tifa led the men and woman to the villa with the rest of the crew in tow. ***** (5 hours later) I woke up staring at the ceiling of my room at the Villa with a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. I turned my head to the side and came to see a face which I thought I would never see again... "Aeri?" I whispered. The 22 year old woman turned at the sound of her nickname. "Danni! You're awake!" Aeris quickly ran out of the room and returned a few moments later with Cloud right behind her. "Danielle, are you alright?" he asked me. I nodded and looked at Aeris. "Aeri, how...?" "I was waiting for you to wake up before Cloud called a meeting for me to explain everything," she replied. I stood up, pulled on my boots, and went to the conference room with them. When I walked in, I noticed AVALANCHE waiting for us. I sat in my seat next to Brandy and watched as Cloud and Aeris came in along with two people who I knew had died... "Oh my God..." I whispered,"Sephiroth? Zack?" I looked at them with an inquiring look as Zack stared back at me with nothing short of amazement and love for me present in his eyes. Sephiroth nodded to me, his green eyes glowing softly. I nodded back at both of them and returned my attention to Cloud, who was about to speak.  
  
"Everyone, Aeris is going to explain what's going on and why she, Zack, and Sephiroth, of all people, have returned to life." "Good, because I want to know what this f&^%$* is doing back among the living!" replied Cid. Brandy kicked him under the table and he shut up. Aeris smiled slightly,"When I died, The Cetra in the Promised Land let me stay in the Lifestream with Zack because they knew another evil was coming and that you'd all defeat Sephiroth. They had me pray to Holy to cure Sephiroth's insanity. We brought his soul into the Lifestream after he was cured and told him the truth of his birth. Zack and Sephiroth wish to join Avalanche and I have returned to re-take my place on the team and fight this new evil to my last breath."  
  
Having said her piece, Aeris sat down and sighed. "Aeris, you are granted to return to Avalanche. Now we vote on Zack and Sephiroth's entry," said Cloud," All those in favor of Zack?" Everyone raised their hands because of all the good things Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris had said about him. "Alright. Now, All those in favor of Sephiroth...?" Aeris and Zack raised their hand because they trusted him. Brandy, Nanaki, and Yuffie raised their hand/paw because they thought he deserved a second chance. Vincent raised his hand because he owed it to Lucretia to protect him. He wouldn't fail again. I raised my hand for reasons unknown to the others. "Very well. It is decided. Welcome to Avalanche, Zack and Aeris. I swear, Sephiroth, If I find out this is a trick..." "It is not," the silver-haired man replied. "Fine." Cloud has to strain to finish his sentence because he hated Sephiroth so much. The ones who didn't vouch for him abruptly stood up and left after breaking their hostile stares. (Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Rufus, and Cid.) Everyone else left as well after welcoming Zack and Sephiroth. The only ones who were left were Zack, Aeris, Sephiroth, and me. I walked over to Aeris. "It's been a while, Aeri." "Yes, it has. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon." I smiled and looked to Sephiroth who was leaning against the wall staring at the floor. "Thank you, Sephiroth." "For what?" he replied distantly. "For saving me from getting my brain splattered on the sea wall." He smirked. "You're welcome. And Thanks...for many things." I smiled at him, said good-bye, and left to go to bed. ****** "You two look so much alike it's uncanny." said Zack as I left. "You don't know the half of it, Zack." she replied mysteriously. Sephiroth could only stare as I left the room. ****** It was the dream again....I stood in a castle courtyard staring at a group of people, a robot, and a talking frog. I saw a 16 yr old boy with spikey red hair to rival Cloud's, a 16 yr old girl in a light blue outfit who carried a crossbow and wore a royal pendant, another girl the same age with violet hair, glasses, and a tool-belt. The frog carried a deadly looking broadsword and wore a cape. I also saw a 24 yr old woman who wore the fur of a giant cat animal and talked primitively. She was a cavewoman. The robot was gold in color and..seemed to have EMOTIONS! Finally, I noticed a man who stood away from the group with dark clothes, a scythe, and blue hair. He faintly reminded me of Death himself. As I stepped closer, I could hear what they were saying. "Crono! Will you get your head out of the clouds!? We need to worry about Lavos!" said the girl with glasses. "Sorry, Lucca. I know we need a plan but I can't think of one. We need to do the quests Gaspar told us about. Maybe we can learn something from them." "So, it's plan B. Right?" asked the girl with the crossbow. "I agree with Princess Nadia," said the frog, "We must do something to make ourselves stronger to face that fiend." "It's Marle, Frog." Frog nodded as the robot turned on. "My sensors indicate something is coming." "Can you tell what it is, Robo?" "No, Lucca. I advise that we get ready because it's not going to be friendly." "Magus, can you tell what it is?" asked Crono. "Yes, it's Ozzie, Flea, and Slash. They've come to make me pay for leaving them." He drew his scythe and the picture faded to black. Another picture came into view as the people fought who I could only guess was Lavos. On the outside, it looked like a giant porcupine with a three pronged eye, but the core....it was humanoid...controlling evolution for it's own purpose...  
  
I then sat up in bed drenched in sweat. I looked at my alarm clock. '12:30...' I got up, dressed, and silently snuck outside to the docks. I found Sephiroth there, the moon shining on his thigh length silver hair, watching the waves crash against the shore. "Good-evening, Danielle," he said without turning. "Hello Sephiroth, couldn't sleep?" I replied. He shook his head. "And you?" "I had a strange vision. It disturbed me and woke me up. Now, I probably won't get back to sleep. What about you?" "I'm just thinking. I've just had my whole life re-arranged...It is very hard not to make myself jump off a cliff and put myself out of misery." I turned to him with wide eyes. "No one cares whether I live or die..." he added. "That's not true," I argued,"Aeris and Zack would be crushed..." 'What about you?' he thought.  
  
As if I had heard his thoughts, I hugged him tightly. "I would miss you too..." I whispered. He smiled at me gently. 'Why am I so attracted to her like this...? I've known her since I was a child. She's only a friend to me...right? I'm not worthy of any love...' he thought as he held me. I smiled at him and brushed his silver bangs out of his eyes. He brought his face closer to mine and our lips met in a gentle kiss. My eyes closed and my arms went around his neck. When he broke the kiss, his mind was spinning. He stared into my green eyes... 'She is so beautiful... I feel as though I want to spend my life with her.... What is this feeling I'm experiencing...?' He felt a fluttering in his heart and vaugely wondered if he was ill. He kissed me again, deeply this time. "No, Sephiroth, we can't!" I told him, breaking away from him.  
  
"Is there...someone else..?" he asked quietly. He remembered the way Zack had looked at me when they had entered the room. "Not really...but I'm not sure of my feelings...I've known you since I was a little kid..." I trailed off. He nodded quietly, his heart hardening as it has been before. His eyes turned cold and expressionless as he blocked his emotions once more. "I understand... Good-night, Danielle." He turned quietly and walked back to the Villa. Tears filled my eyes as I whispered,"Just give me some time...I'm so sorry, Sephiroth..." I sat on the edge of the dock, adding my tears into the salty ocean. 


	2. Chapter 2: Longings

Chapter 2 Longings (Wednesday, 9:00 AM) I woke up the next morning with a horrible feeling in my heart and tear strained eyes. I had ended up crying myself to sleep after returning to the Villa about 2 hours after Sephiroth did. I put on my blue sleeveless dragon shirt, my jeans, and my boots. I brushed out my hair and noticed that my eyes were red and puffy from crying. There was nothing I could do about it, so I went down to eat breakfast. ***** Sephiroth felt bad as he brushed out his hair in the morning. He had stayed awake watching me from the window of the Villa. He could tell I was crying. He had heard my words last night. When I stood up, he quietly went to his room and climbed into bed. He heard a door opening and shutting across the hall. He could also hear me as I cried myself to sleep. 'I bring pain to everyone...' he had thought as he dozed off. Now, He just wanted to apologize. He continued getting ready as the smell of breakfast wafted up the stairs... ***** Tifa, Shera, and Yuffie were well into making breakfast for everyone as Brandy set the large table. I came down the stairs and went to the refirgerator. I poured myself a glass of orange juice. Tifa turned and noticed my eyes. "Danielle, have you been crying?" she asked worridly. I simply nodded as I finished my glass. "Brandy, take over for me." Brandy moved to the stove as Tifa led me into the living room. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. I simply shrugged. "Ahh...I think I know what this is about...You're in love..aren't you?" "I'm not completely sure of my feelings... There are two men I love very much....but I've known one of them almost all my life and I thought I had lost the other forever...." "Who are they?" I sighed. "Sephiroth and Zack." "......" I could sense Tifa's amazement. "I was kidnapped by Shinra when I was very young. I barely even remember my mother... I grew up in Shinra HQ alone and scared. Hojo, the slimeball, was putting me through all kinds of tests and stuff. It was a nightmare. When I was 10, I heard Hojo mumbling about mating me with someone with Jenova cells. As I wondered what the hell that ment, he asked me if I would like a playmate. I figured,'why not?', and told him that I did. That's when I first met Sephiroth. Hojo told me that he would be allowed to play with me for one hour every day. After that, I was always good when I needed to be tested. We became fast friends even though at first he was cold and distant...much like he is now. He was two years older than me and a third class SOLDIER in training. One day...he made a promise to me that he would escape and he would take me with him. Well, 3 years later, we had our chance. We managed to get to the first floor before Hojo caught up with us. He drew his sword and prepared to fight. He told me to run, but I wouldn't leave without him. He pushed me out the front door and I ran to the sewers. I escaped Midgar and I lived in Kalm with a Soldier who had escaped there. When I was 15, I went to Gongaga. Then I met Zack. I was in love with him for a long time...then he left for Midgar and I never saw him again. After that, I was captured again and injected with Jenova cells. I escaped before the experiment was finished. I had heard that Sephiroth had escaped as well and went off in search of him. Then I found out what had happened to him.  
  
Now, they're both back....I have feelings for both of them and I don't know what to do." "Here's a little advice," said Tifa,"Follow your heart. It will never lead you wrong." I nodded and we went back to the kitchen for breakfast. ****** (10 mins later)  
  
Everyone had woken up to the smell of pancakes, eggs and bacon. "My favorite!" said Barret as he sat down at the table. Cloud sat on one end of the table with Tifa on his right and Zack on his left. After Tifa were; Cid, Shera, Vincent, and me. Brandy sat on the other end of the table. After Zack were; Aeris, Sephiroth, Nanaki, Yuffie, and Barret. As everyone ate, Zack and Sephiroth noticed that I wasn't talking to anyone. They also noticed my eyes, which were still red. Zack made a mental note to talk to me later and Sephiroth planned to apologize. Reeve suddenly appeared in the kitchen. "Where have you been?" asked Yuffie. "Working," he replied simply as he sat down. After everyone had eaten, Zack took me into the den to talk to me privately. "Danni, what's wrong? Please talk to me..." he said. "Zack... I know you still love me but.... I'm not sure of my feelings. I need some time. I need to sort out my thoughts and figure out what to do. I'm sorry..." I stood up from the couch and ran up to my room. Zack just stared after me. 'Sephiroth...' he thought bitterly. ****** (12:00 noon) 'What am I going to do now?' I thought to myself as I stared at the ceiling from my bed. A voice in my head said I should stick with Zack, since he was my boyfriend when I was younger, but my heart said Sephiroth because....well.... 'Why do I love Sephiroth? Is it just because he saved me from Shinra? Is that all there is?' I stood up and looked out my window at the beach and the ocean. Someone knocked on my door. "Come in." The door opened and shut. I turned and saw my worst nightmare: Hojo. "What the hell!? You're dead!" "This is my clone. Hope you like it." He jumped at me. As I wrestled him, I knocked over my table scattering my papers everywhere. He managed to get at a materia. "Sleepel." A purple star appeared over my head, bringing sleeping gas with it. As I fought the spell, I took a small pen from my item pouch and wrote on the paper closest to me; Help! Hojo clone! Kidnapping me and taking me to... Then, the spell took effect and I fell unconsious. He tied me up, slung me over his shoulder, and ran out of my room... ****** Hojo had put everyone under a Stop spell. When he left with me, it wore off. Sephiroth went up to my room and immediately knew something was wrong. He noticed the note, picked it up, read it, and shouted,"CLOUD!!!" Cloud came running up the stairs. "What the hell happened here!?" He grabbed Sephiroth by the shirt. "What have you done to her you murderer!?" Sephiroth glared back at him. "I did nothing to her," he said calmly, "but someone we know did... Look at this." Sephiroth broke free of Cloud's grip and handed him the note. Cloud read it. "Damn. Where did he take her and why?'' "I don't know where....but Aeris knows why."  
  
Aeris had been at the beach with Zack just hanging out and talking about old times. When they returned, Zack cursed almost as bad as Cid and Aeris paled. "Aeris, why would Hojo take Danielle?" asked Cloud. "......She is my sister. When Hojo had my mother and I in captivity, she was pregnant again. She hadn't told my father yet...he never knew. She was born a year after me. When she escaped, she took Danielle and me with her. Then she was shot. I had hidden and the Soldiers took Danielle straight back to the HQ. Then Elmyra came up and took me home." "No wonder she looks so much like you!" exclaimed Zack. "We must rescue her. I know Hojo's plan and it's very bad," said Sephiroth quietly. Red came into the room. "I've got the scent!" he said sniffing the ground again to make sure. "Let's get the gold chocobos," said Cloud. Everyone saddled the golden birds and they were off. ****** (12:00, midnight.)  
  
When I woke up, I immediately noticed that I was unarmed and in the cells of Hojo's lab in Junon. "So, you're awake Miss Cetra," he sneered coming up to the door. "The name is Danielle you jackass." "Very spirited...I like that in a lover." "WHAT!?" "You're going to be my mate and have a child. I can't wait to see what kind of powers it will possess!" "Like hell I am! When I get out of here..." "You will be my mate and like it or Sephiroth and Zack will die!" I gasped. "NO! Don't hurt them!" "Aha! If you don't do what I say, you'll never see them again." With tears in my eyes, I nodded silently. "Good, since it's late, we'll start tomorrow. Get a good rest. You're going to need it." He left me alone and I laid down on the bed and cried into my pillow... ****** (The next morning, 7:00 AM)  
  
"They're somewhere on this continent. I've lost the scent," said Red as they got off the boat at Fort Condor. "Well, knowing that lunatic he could only be in two places,"said Cloud,"Tifa, Cid, Nanaki, Yuffie and I will go scout out Midgar. Zack, you take Barret, Sephiroth, Vincent, Brandy, and Reeve to check out Junon. Let's move out!" Sephiroth and team headed off to the west while Cloud's team headed north. 'Hold on, Danielle...I'm coming...' Sephiroth thought. Zack rode up next to him. "Can we go faster? I know you may not care about her safety but..." "Don't you DARE tell me I don't care about her!" replied Sephiroth angrily, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You love her....don't you?" Zack asked with a fire burning in his eyes. Sephiroth just sat and stared at the oncoming town ignoring Zack. ******* (7:00 AM)  
  
"Good morning, Miss Danielle," said Hojo smoothly as I woke up in the morning. "God, I thought this was a nightmare!" I replied in revulsion. "Don't forget, I have 10,000 Soldiers stationed here just waiting for the order to kill Sephiroth and Zack." "Very well...." I replied in defeat. "That's a good girl. I have to go into town to buy some of my chemicals. I'll be back soon. I want you dressed in this waiting for me when I return." He put a red silk nightgown into my cell. He left chuckling to himself. After the elevator went up, I changed and sat on my bed crying. ****** (1 hr. 30 mins. later)  
  
"Hey Pricilla, have you seen Hojo come through here with a woman who looks like Aeris lately?" asked Barret. "Yup. I'm glad you came because I was going to call you. She was under a Sleep spell. He said something about a lab in the underwater reactor when he rode by me on his chocobo the other day," replied the little girl in relief. Barret thanked her and they all crammed into the elevator. "Sephiroth, take Vincent and Brandy to the underwater reactor to see if you can find Hojo. We'll check the town. Knowing that braindead idiot, he forgot to get his chemicals. He's probably buying them," commented Zack. Sephiroth, Brandy and Vincent nodded. Sephiroth and team headed for the other elevator which would lead down as Zack and his team began to search Upper Junon. ****** (8:45 AM) I heard the elevator coming and quickly dried my tears. A lesson from Sephiroth instantly coming to mind. 'Never show any weakness. There's a way out for everything. The trick is to find it.' I laid down on the bed trying not to throw up. I heard the door open and soft steps came out of it. 'More than one person?' I thought to myself as I analyzed the sounds. "Search the lab. I'll find Danielle," came the soft order. I knew that voice. I immediately forgot what I was wearing and went to the door of my cell. "Sephiroth!" I said loudly,"Over here!" He quickly hurried over. "Is Hojo in here?" he asked quietly. I shook my head. "He forgot to buy the chemicals he needed," I replied. Sephiroth smiled and quickly opened the door. I rushed into his embrace. It startled him for a moment but then he ran a gloved hand through my hair as he hugged me tightly. His emotions were getting the better of him again. It was here that I began to cry again. "Shh....it's alright, Danni, it's alright.." he whispered trying to comfort me. "He....he said...he'd kill you...and Zack...if I didn't cooperate..." I sobbed. As I cried on his shoulder, a look of hate and anger at Hojo and Zack passed over his face. "Did he do anything to you..?" he asked quietly. "No....but he was going to...when he returned...He was going to force me to give birth to his child just so he could create a Super Soldier...." I sobbed. He gently dried my tears with his thumb and smiled as he cupped my face. He kissed me gently.  
  
"I will NOT have my mate kissing another man!" roared Hojo as the elevator door opened. Vincent and Brandy came to our side ready to defend me. Hojo psychically knocked them out. "I'm not your mate!" I shouted. It was here I realized what I was wearing. As I began to get even madder, Hojo psychically tied me to a chair so I couldn't channel my energies. I struggled against my bonds as Sephiroth and Hojo unsheathed their swords, tensed and charged. The swords crashed high and low, sending sparks into the air. I watched as Sephiroth moved with a grace I, myself, didn't even possess. As Hojo began to get even wilder in his attacks, Sephiroth blocked easily and countered making numerous wounds appear on him. "You..have improved..much, my son," panted Hojo. "I'm not your son. You gave up all rights to me the day you injected my mother with Jenova cells. Since Cloud took the honor of killing you the first time, I'll have to settle for your clone," Sephiroth replied, his eyes blazing with an intensity I had never seen before. "Take your best shot. I'll kill you, and then the girl will be mine....for my own pleasureable purposes." I felt like I was going to barf thinking about what he had planned for me if he won. He looked at me and smiled evily when he noticed how low the neckline of the nightgown was. "Go to Hell, you pervert," I retorted. As he was occupied, Sephiroth ran up and stabbed him. "Remember, you said to take my best shot. Enjoy hell." As Sephiroth pulled the blade from Hojo's body, the evil man gurgled blood and slumped to the floor. Sephiroth cut my bonds and I jumped out of the chair. Sephiroth cleaned his sword and sheathed it. I hugged him again and Sephiroth was about to kiss me when Brandy moaned and Vincent began to get up. We quickly separated. I could see a hint of amusment in Vincent's normally unreadable eyes as Brandy snickered and said,"Nice outfit, Danni." "That is not funny, Brandy," I retorted,"Can I borrow your Fire materia?" She pulled it from the handle of her whip and tossed it to me. I concentrated and Hojo's body burst into flames. As Sephiroth raised a silver eyebrow, I smiled and replied,"Just in case." He smirked and we left to regroup with the others. On the way out, Sephiroth gave me his cape to put on over the nightgown. ******* (3 hrs. later. Costa del Sol)  
  
"Now, where were we?" I asked when we returned to the villa. He let go of me and pulled out of my embrace, his eyes cold and emotionless. "Too far," he replied,"I can't build a romantic relationship with you...I'm not the guy for you...Go back to Zack... I don't experience emotions of Love and kindness." He quietly left my room and entered his own across the hall. When he shut the door, he looked at a picture of me he had taken when we were 15 and whispered,"I'm sorry, Danni..." while a tear slipped down his face. ******* I fell onto my bed, tears welling up in my eyes over his rejection. 'Do you even know what you want anymore..?' asked that annoying voice in my head. 'Planet...you're supposed to help me.' I replied angrily. 'There's nothing I can do. He controls his own destiny just as you control yours.' Tears slipped down my face. I wiped them away in anger. 'No more! I can't control him or his actions. I'm not going to be weak anymore. I'm not going to cry. If Sephiroth can harden his heart and show no emotion, then so can I!' I grabbed my pack from in my closet and filled it with my clothes, supplies, other items, and my tent. I strapped my sword into place at my hip and wrote a letter to Avalanche:  
  
My dearest friends,  
I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm not fit to fight on such a good team. I pray you will continue on without me and that we'll meet again someday. I plan to go home for a while then I'm going to travel the world. I'm going to try to find a place where I belong. Please take care of Brandy and my sister. I will miss you all and pray the fates will be kind to you in your lives.  
  
Sephiroth,  
I hope you find what you're looking for in life and I hope you find happiness. May the fates be kind to you in your life. I hope we meet again someday on better terms. Please don't follow me. Farewell my friends.  
Your teammate and friend,  
Danielle Gast  
  
I snuck out of the Villa and retrieved my gold chocobo, Princess, and set off for my father's house in Icicle Village. 


	3. Chapter 3: Runaways

Chapter 3 Runaways (Wednesday, 6:00 PM)  
  
I set the temperature for the house and turned on the heater. I unpacked my bag and put everything into their proper places. I looked at the picture I had snuck out of the Villa. It was made at a party that we had held for the new team members. My eyes settled on one person in particular. 'Sephiroth...' I sighed and looked at the videos Aeris had told me about. I played all of them and saw my parents for the first time. 'My mother was so beautiful....I see why Aeris and I turned out so pretty...and my father....he never even knew about me...' When I saw the video where Ifalna and Aeris were captured, I began to wish I had killed Hojo's clone. I wished I had been able to meet my father. Eventually, I turned off the tape player and checked on Princess in the stable. I made sure she was fed and that her water wouldn't freeze. Then, I practiced with my sword for a while, made dinner, and went to bed around 10:00...I dreamt of nothing else but Sephiroth and Zack, and while I slept I analyzed my heart once again... ******* (6:00 PM, same time.) (Costa del Sol)  
  
"Cloud!" shouted Aeris from my room. Cloud quickly went up the stairs. "What is it, Aeris?" he replied. "Danielle's gone. She was there a few hours ago saying she wanted to be alone. Now she's gone! She left this,"answered Aeris, handing him the letter. He read it and began to get very angry. He stormed over to Sephiroth's room and pounded on the door. "Go away," came the immediate reply. "Open up, Sephiroth!" demanded Cloud,"We have to talk. NOW." Aeris could hear Sephiroth sigh and walk toward the door. Sephiroth unlocked it and opened the door, anger apparant on his face. Aeris was shocked. Never before had she seen Sephiroth look so messy. His clothes were wrinkled, his boots unpolished, his hair in tangles and his eyes bloodshot. "What do you want, Strife?'' he demanded coldly. "Danielle is gone," said Cloud, just as angry and cold, handing him the letter. Sephiroth read it quickly and sighed. "What did you say to her!?" he demanded,"We just rescued her and now she runs off!" "What I said to her is NONE of your business, Strife. Now leave me alone." He was about to shut the door, but Aeris pushed past Cloud and stuck her foot in the door, effectively stopping it. Aeris glared at him. "It may not be Cloud's, but it's my business. She's my little sister and you'd better find her. If you don't, you're going to pray that you have ALOT of cure materia because when I get done, you'll be charred meat.'' Sephiroth sighed and nodded. Aeris moved her foot and he shut the door. "Woah...are you alright? You never displayed this much anger before....the encounter. Other than that, remind me not to make you mad." "I'm fine. My cheerfulness has limits when it comes to my family. Don't cross my sister or me and you'll have absolutely nothing to worry about." They went back downstairs. A few minutes later, Sephiroth came out of his room looking normal. His boots were polished, his hair combed, his eyes normal, and wearing his black battle uniform and cape. His sword hung at his side. He went outside, got his chocobo and headed off.  
  
******** (Thursday, 7:00 AM) 'God,' I prayed,'What did I do to deserve this? I've tried to be a good person. All I want is to live a normal life...have a husband, a warm house, maybe a dog. I don't know! Anything's better than being a Cetra. Everyone wants to experiment on me or take me hostage.' I eventually woke from my prayers and meditation and made myself eat breakfast. As I ate, I went over the sword drills I planned to do that day in my mind. I still remembered the day I mastered the Hand of Life Masamune...  
  
flashback....  
  
"Danielle, you have done well," said my teacher, Brittany. She had long blonde hair and a scar along one arm, a result of a sparring match against Sephiroth himself. "You are almost as good as the Great Sephiroth...maybe even better. It's too bad he's no longer around to compare you with him." "Thank you, Master. I will hold this blade in truth and justice." I tied the sheath at my hip and bowed to her. She bowed to me and I turned and left her home. That was 4 years ago... end flashback....  
  
'I wonder if she's still alive..?' I thought as I cleaned my plate and headed outside. ****** Sephiroth rode into the village. 'I wonder if she's here...' he thought. He had already searched Corel, Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon before he remembered his old friend, Professor Gast, and the house in Icicle Village. He began to walk his chocobo, Lexus, through the village toward the house. When he got there, he heard the sound of a sword slashing the air. So he headed around back. He then saw me running through the drills I had picked attacking an invisible opponent. From the look on my face, he thought it was probably him that I was mad at. He saw that I was too preoccupied to notice him so the leaned against the fence to watch. ******* (45 mins. later) I continued to attack my imaginary opponent not in the least tired. I used a stump to give myself momentum as I jumped and slashed from above. "If you held your blade a little higher, your movements would be a lot more graceful," said a voice behind me. I turned around quickly, my blade held up and tensed to strike. "Sephiroth!" I said in surprise, "How did you find me here?" "A hunch. Your sister sent me after you. She was going to use her magic on me if I didn't find you." I smiled. I picked up my towel and wiped my face dry of sweat. "Do you have a place to stay?" I asked him. "I was going to get a room at the Lodge." "Don't bother. The house has a guestroom. You can stay here." Sephiroth nodded and began to lead Lexus toward the stable. "I'll meet you inside," I told him. "Sure." I walked inside, put my sword on the spot on the wall and my towel in the laundry and ran upstairs to change into a different shirt. I quickly came down the stairs just as Sephiroth came in the house. "Honestly, how did you find me here?" I asked as I made hot cocoa for the both of us. "I remembered this place from what your father told me a long time ago. Long before Aeris was born." "You knew my father!?" I asked. "Yeah..for a long time, when I was little, he was the only friend I ever had...then he died. Hojo told me he had a heart attack, but I knew he was lying." "He was," I replied pouring the cocoa into two mugs,"He had him shot and then kidnapped my mother and Aeris." "How do you know this? You weren't even born yet." "It was on the tapes in my father's lab. He was recording my sister on the camera, then Hojo attacked." I handed him a mug and sat on the rocking chair. "Danielle, we need to talk," he said, sitting down on the couch. "About what?" I replied sipping my cocoa. "About us." "Sephiroth, you couldn't have made your feelings clearer if you had spat in my face," I retorted. Sephiroth winced. "I'm sorry, Seph. I shouldn't have said that. It's just as much my fault as it is yours. Here I was having seen you again after 7 years of wondering what happened and I was acting like an idiot." "No, no. You have every right to be angry with me. What I said was stupid. I shouldn't have done that to you after all you've done for me." "It's just..when I saw you and Zack again...it was like...WWII battle of Jenova vs. Shinra in my head. All of the emotions..all of the feelings... I almost went crazy." He smiled a bit. "I've been down that road. It's not very fun." I laughed. "I'll give you that one. It most likely isn't." We continued to talk for a long time about old times and things that had happened during our separation. By the time I looked at the clock it was 12:30. 'Where has the time gone?' I thought as I yawned. "I'm going to bed, Sephiroth. Your room is upstairs on the right." I stood up and stretched. Sephiroth nodded. "I was going to do the same. Good-night, Danielle." "Night, Sephiroth." I headed up the stairs and closed my bedroom door. He heard me move around for a little bit and settle down in bed. 'I love you, Danni...' he thought sadly as he went up to his room. ******* As I lay in bed in my black and silver dragon pajamas, I realized that I couldn't sleep. 'The choice is a hard one....do you even know your way?' asked the Planet. 'Well...I think I do...Tell me something, If I'm so special to the Planet, why didn't Jenova kill me too? She must have realized there were two of us. I mean, I didn't exactly hide the fact that I existed.' 'Jenova believed that your sister was the immediate threat as she had the White Materia. She knew that after she had destroyed Avalanche and become ruler of the Planet that she could have killed you. She didn't expect to die when she did.' 'I see...' 'Now, back to MY question. Do you even know your path in life?' I sat there in silence and thought as well as analyzed my heart for my true feelings. 'I'm still not sure. I'm so confused...' I replied. I could sense the Planet's dissappointment as it's presence receded from my mind for the moment. Eventually, I fell asleep. ******* It was a different dream this time... A blonde woman was chasing a creature across a large city. She looked to be a policewoman from her clothes and her arsenal. Everything in that city had either died or mutated...almost. There were places where the humans had hidden, defending themselves against the mutations...She alone was left who could stop everything. She had special abilities..ones I had never seen before...As she fought a large crab-like creature, she unleashed these abilities... Then I sat up in bed drenched in a cold sweat. I sat there for a moment gathering my thoughts until I noticed my alarm clock, Friday, 8:02 AM. I got up, took a quick shower, and went downstairs to make breakfast. Suddenly, the cries of the Planet started. 'Oh God...the pain...' I felt myself hitting the floor as I passed out. ******* (20 mins. later) "Oh, God..." whispered Sephiroth as he noticed me on the floor unconsious. He knelt next to me and felt for a pulse. He found it and breathed a sigh of relief. He gently picked me up and laid me on the couch. He knelt on the floor next to the couch holding my hand and brushing the bangs out of my closed eyes. "Danni...come on, Danni...wake up.." he murmured gently. After a few minutes, I moaned and slowly opened my eyes. "Oww...my head." "Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded. "It was the Cry of the Planet, Sephiroth...it's not over yet.." I whispered. He helped me sit up and I went to start breakfast. ******* (Friday, 8:45) "This is very good, Danielle. Where did you learn to cook?" Sephiroth asked as he ate another one of my homemade waffles. "Thanks. I learned to cook in Cosmo while I was researching my heritage," I responded, smiling. "Did you learn anything interesting?" he replied, interested. "Nothing that you didn't already know. If I want to find something, Bugenhaegen said to look for the hidden libraries in the Ancient City." "Maybe we should go there sometime. There are probably books about Jenova there too, seeing as she lived with them for a while." "That sounds like a great plan. We'll have to do that," I replied as I continued eating. "Do you want to spar me later this week?" he asked. One of Brittany's final things that she'd said popped into my mind. "You are almost as good as the Great Sephiroth...maybe even better. It's too bad he's no longer around to compare you with him." "Sure," I replied,"Just don't gut me like a fish, deal?" He laughed. "Deal." ******* (same time) "They've been gone for almost a week now. Where the hell are they?" complained Zack. "You love her..don't you?" asked Cloud. "Yup. She was my girlfriend before the Nibelheim accident. I think there's something more to her past with Sephiroth than she's telling...it seems that she has feelings for both of us..." he responded. "All I can say is, my friend, even though I hate Sephiroth with every cell in my being and I pray to the gods that she chooses you...don't pressure her for an answer. She'll be even more confused and things will get worse," advised Cloud. Zack nodded and went to try and help the others convince Cid to change the channel on the TV from the 'Dukes of Hazard' Marathon. ****** (12:00, noon. A week and a half later from when I left.) "Now, come at me with everything you've got," said Sephiroth. I nodded and began to charge, my sword raised. He brought his up to counter the slash when he noticed I wasn't in front of him anymore. Suddenly, his blade was struck and he dropped it. I used that advantage and pulled his arms behind his back and held my sword against his throat. "Wow. You're almost as good as me," Sephiroth commented. "Almost!?" I pouted. "Ok, ok. I'll admit it. You are as good as me. Who were you trained by? I thought I was the only one who could wield a Masamune. Then again, I thought I had the only Masamune." I smiled and let him go, sheathing my sword.  
  
"I was trained by your old teacher Brittany when I found this sword in the Ancient City." He smirked and scooped up some snow while my back was turned, crushing it into a snowball. When I turned back around, he threw it and hit me smack in the face and then dropped and sweep-kicked my legs out from under me. I fell face first into the snow shouting,"Hey! You cheater!" He still had that infuriating smirk on his face. "Never let your guard down or you'll end up dead." I smiled and grabbed some snow behind my back. I then threw it and the icy powder hit him right in the face. "What the..?" he sputtered, spitting out snow. "And you shouldn't underestimate me," I replied. Sephiroth laughed again. I pulled him down into the snow with me and we watched the clouds drift across the sky. A long time passed as we lay in the snow. I vaugely thought about Zack, but then I pushed him out of my mind. 'Maybe we shouldn't go back to Avalanche...' he thought, 'We're both perfectly happy here...' I was making a snow angel when suddenly... "So..my son has become an ally with a Cetra...I won't allow it!" Jenova floated in the air in her natural form. 'How is she alive!? Planet! Answer me!' 'She was reborn.... Her cells can reproduce when stimulated. When Cloud killed her, she shouted,"I'll be back!" She sent the order to her cells to reproduce at her death.' 'Oh god...' Jenova was fighting a mental battle with Sephiroth. 'Kill the girl..' 'I won't!' 'Do as I say...son, she'll destroy you. Kill her!' ''You are not my mother!" he shouted, "I won't do it!" "Very well....if you won't kill her...I WILL!" Her tenticles stretched out and pinned me to the ground before I could draw my sword. The other one wrapped around Sephiroth's body, sealing him off from helping me. "Now...to enact my plan..." Jenova used her powers and opened two portals... ******* (1999 AD, The Day of Lavos.) "What is that!?" shouted Marle as the winds picked up around the Time travellers and Lavos. "I don't know, but Lavos is making a mad dash for it!" replied Lucca. "Everyone to the Epoch! Let's follow this thing!" commanded Crono. Everyone ran to the Epoch and jumped in. Crono piloted the Epoch through the portal seconds before it closed. ******** (Alternate Dimension) (New York City, 2002 AD)  
  
"This ends here, Eve!" shouts a woman by the name of Aya Brea. She selects a long-range gun from her arsenal and aims at the mutated woman. "You're wrong... You are evolving... Soon you shall become like me..." the creature replied beginning to power her abilities. "I can control my powers! I'll never be like you!" The portal opens above them and sucks them both in before closing. ******** (Normal Dimension, 3002 AD, 5:00 PM ) I struggled against the strength of Jenova's tenticle as did Sephiroth. Jenova suddenly shapeshifted a third tenticle into a razor sharp knife. "Danielle!" shouted Sephiroth, still trying to escape. She raised it up and began the downward attack designed to kill me. At the last split second, I managed to turn my body just enough that the knife imbedded itself deep into my arm. I grimiced in pain. "Ahh..." "I do believe that my associates have arrived..." sneered Jenova, keeping the thing in my arm just the see me in pain.  
  
Suddenly, Lavos and Eve appeared in the portals and floated next to Jenova. "Welcome, Lavos and Eve, to my world..." "Oh my God..." I whispered. "Shall we leave these..mortals?" asked Lavos. Jenova dropped Sephiroth and pulled her tenticle out of my arm and let me get off the cold ground. "When we meet again, Cetra....you shall die. Until then, prepare for doom..." sneered Jenova as they dissappeared. Sephiroth quickly hurried over to me and pulled out a Cure materia. He began to heal my wound when the Epoch suddenly appeared and Aya dropped from above. "Where the hell..?" she started. I looked at Sephiroth as the Epoch's canopy opened and the Time travellers jumped out. "Where are we?" asked Crono, looking around. I stepped forward. "You're the people from my visions..." I started,"You're Aya Brea. You have special abilities because of your mutating Mitochondria and are currently chasing Eve. You're Crono, Lucca, Princess Nadia a.k.a. Marle, Glenn a.k.a. Frog, Ayla, Robo, and of course, Janus a.k.a. Magus. You are all from different eras of this Planet's history and travel in the Epoch or the 'Wings of Time' and are after Lavos." They stood there looking amazed. 'This was part of her vision that night at the dock...?' thought Sephiroth. "Since you're all going to be here for a while and I have no more guest rooms at my house, I'll lead you all to the inn." Crono nodded to his group that I could be trusted and all of the newcomers followed me to the inn. "Hello, 8 rooms please," I told the innkeeper. "Hello, Ms. Gast. You're in luck. We do have 8 rooms free. That will be 1,300 gil please." I handed over the money and he gave me the keys. I led them upstairs. "Your rooms are the ones down this hallway," I said giving each one a key, "Get some rest. I'll call over here in the morning and tell them to send you over to my house for breakfast. I'll try to explain everything then, ok?"  
  
"Thank you, Miss....?" started Lucca. "Danielle, Danielle Gast." "Thank you, Miss Danielle," chimed in Aya. After they went into their rooms, I returned to my house. "Did you get them situated?" asked Sephiroth. I nodded. Eventually, I told him goodnight and went to bed. ******* (8:00, Saturday morning) I woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs to start breakfast. As I cracked eggs into the skillet, I began to sing to myself an old song I had heard somewhere. I sang it in fluent Wuaitan as it was ment to be. Soon, I heard a loud knock on the door. I sighed and went to answer it. 'Odd...I haven't called over to the inn yet....Crono's group nor Aya should be here....' I opened the door. "Zack!? What are you doing here!?" "Well, you and Sephiroth have been missing for over a week and a half now and I wondered where you were. I was worried," Zack replied, stepping into the room. He kissed me gently. I pushed him away. "What's wrong, Danni?" he asked. "No, Zack. I still haven't passed judgement on my feelings. I refuse to do anything like that until I have decided," I replied turning my back to him. Zack turned angry. "Well, you'd better choose fast because I won't have you anywhere near that silver-haired freak of nature. You deserve someone much better...me," he replied grabbing my hair and pulling me toward the door. "OWW! Let go of my hair Zack!" I slapped him. He slapped me back and continued to drag me. "SEPHIROTH!!!" I shouted through the house as I was dragged outside. I heard him quickly running down the stairs. "Danielle!?" he replied. I grabbed onto the frame of the door. "Help me, Sephiroth!" Sephiroth saw who had my hair and his eyes blazed with an intensity I had never seen before. He drew his sword and rushed outside. Zack dropped me and pushed me out of the way, putting a sleep spell on me as I landed. "What have you done to her!?" "Chill, I didn't want her to see our duel. When I send you back to the Lifestream, I'll have her." Zack drew his sword, the Apocalypse. Sephiroth raised the Masamune and charged. Zack sidestepped and tried to counter, but Sephiroth's blade was there to block. The swords clashed high and low, sending sparks all over the place. They continued to fight, trying to gain the advantage for a good ten minutes. "You can't win, Zack. You know my skills are far more superior." "Like I give a damn? I'm still going to beat you." It was here that Sephiroth slashed him across the chest. Not enough to kill but enough to get his point across.  
  
"Listen, I want to kill you more than anything right now for attempting that with Danielle, but since she hasn't decided ANYTHING yet, I will not. You go back to Avalanche and tell them we need them up here immediately. If you ever try to do that to Danielle again, I'll kill you." Zack nodded and left the yard. Sephiroth cast an Esuna spell on me and I woke up. "Where is that jerk!?" I immediately said. "Gone. I sent him back to Avalanche." I pouted. "At least he didn't rape you." "Good point. I'm going to finish breakfast." I hugged him and went for the door. "I'm going to run some errands, alright? I'll be back before breakfast." "Ok, I'll see you later." I walked inside and finished cooking the eggs. I started on the bacon and sausage and called over to the inn and told them to send my new friends over. I heard a knock on the door as I was just finishing the last of the food. "Come on in, everyone!" I shouted. "Hello!?" I heard Crono call out as they came into the house. "I'm in the kitchen. Go ahead and snag some seats, I'll be out in a minute!" Marle came to the kitchen door. "Hello, Danielle. Do you need any help?" she asked. "Nope, I'm all done. You can help me carry out the food though if you'd like." "Ok." She picked up one of the platters and I picked up the other two and headed out to the dining room. ****** "Wow, this looks so good!" said Lucca. "Thou art a good cook madam, you have my praise," added Frog after tasting my eggs. "Please Frog, call me Danielle." "Danielle! I'm back." Sephiroth came into the kitchen. "Oh, hello everyone." "Hello Mr....'' started Aya. "Sephiroth Alexandros. Just call me Sephiroth." He sat down next to me and set the bag he carried by his chair and fixed himself a plate of food. "Where are you all from?" asked Sephiroth. "Guardia kingdom, 1000 AD. "said Crono, motioning to himself, Marle, and Lucca. "Guardia, 600 AD," answered Frog. "Zeal, 21,000 BC," said Magus. "Me from Ioka Village, umm... way before yesterday," added Ayla. "65 million BC," translated Lucca. "I'm from an alternate dimension. It's New York, 2002 AD," answered Aya. 'Wow, I had heard myths about the Timetravellers...but I never realized they existed! This is so cool!' I thought. "Frog, that is an interesting broadsword...what is it called?" I asked after everyone had finished. "Tis called the Masamune in mine land." I looked at Sephiroth in amazement. "How odd....My sword is called the Masamune and Danielle's is the Hand of Life Masamune." "So...How did we end up here?" asked Crono. "Well, apparently, Jenova seems to know Lavos and Eve somehow and teleported them to this time period. She must not have known they were being opposed and accidentally brought you here too. This is Icicle Village on the Northern Continent. It's 3002 AD here and now those three are running loose somewhere. I can keep you guys at the inn until my friends get here. We're going to need all the help we can get. I also think it would be good if you guys learned how to use materia. It'll help you alot," I explained. "Sounds good to me," said Crono. "Me too," said Aya. Soon, after thanking me for breakfast, they went to explore the town. I put the dishes in the sink and sat on the couch. Sephiroth sat next to me. "This is going to be a hard fight...are you sure you want to do this?" he asked looking at me with concern. "I must....It is my duty to the Cetra and besides, she wants to kill me. Should I sit here and wait for her?" "No.. I'll protect you." We just sat there gazing at each other. 


	4. Chapter 4: Reunions ad Problems

Chapter 4 Reunions and Problems (4:00 PM Sunday. October 1st)  
  
'Who could that be?' I thought as I came down the stairs. The knocking was sounded again. "Hold on! I'm coming!" I opened the door. "Cloud?!" "Hey Danielle. Where's Sephiroth?" "Look, don't fight him," I said, knowing what Cloud wanted to see him about, "Zack was trying to rape me. He did it for my defense." Cloud nodded, reluctantly. "Alright. He told Zack it was an emergency...?" "It is. Come on in." I led him to the living room and sat on the rocking chair while he sat on the couch. "So, what's up?" "Cloud, this is really bad. Jenova is alive... she has brought two other evil beings through portals to help take over the world. I sense her calling... Sephiroth resisted her mind control now she just wants to kill both of us. She brought Lavos and Eve. Unknowingly, she also brought Aya Brea and the legendary Time travellers. They have decided to join with Sephiroth and me to destroy them. We knew we needed help so Sephiroth sent Zack back to you guys," I explained. "This is bad... Ok, we're going to have a meeting to discuss what's going on at 6:00. Can you hold out against Jenova's callings?" he replied. "Yeah. She can't take me because I know who my parents are. She can't use that trick on me. I'll see you later, ok?" "Alright. I'm going to have some words with Zack. I never expected him to do that. I'm sorry. I should never have let him leave the Villa. Later." He stood up and walked out the door. I sighed and went upstairs. ******* Sephiroth sat on his bed in his room and looked at the ring he had bought. It was a gold band with a diamond in the center and aquamarines surrounding it. 'Danni...' He heard me coming up the stairs, closed the black velvet box, and hid it under his pillow. I knocked on the door and walked in. "Hey, who was at the door?" he asked. "Cloud. He came to find out what was going on and he schedueled a meeting later at 6:00," I replied. "Oh.." "Is something wrong, Seph?" I asked him, tilting my head questionally. "No." He stood up and hugged me tightly. "What's this for?" I said, smiling. "Because you're my best friend, right?" "Yup!" I replied. ******* "What do you think is up with Zack?" asked Rufus as he looked around the room at the inn,"That injury was pretty bad. What did he do to make Sephiroth so mad?" "Who knows?" replied Brandy, "I haven't seen my sister around lately...I wonder what happened to her?" "She's probably adrift after Tseng died. The turks will take care of her." He kissed her gently. ******* (5:45 PM Sunday, Oct. 1st) "Danielle...wake up," said Sephiroth, poking his head through the door to my room. "Hmm..?" I said rolling over. "It's time for the meeting, sleepyhead." I sat up. "Alright, alright. I'm up." He shut the door and I got out of bed, changed into a red long-sleeved shirt with sparkles on it, jeans, and my boots. I brushed out my hair and tied it into a high ponytail with a red ribbon. I met Sephiroth downstairs and he handed me my sword. I tied it onto my belt and we left the house. ******* (6:30 PM) "Danielle and Sephiroth have explained what is going on. Now we must all join forces to defeat Jenova, Lavos, and Eve or else they will destroy the world," said Cloud. "I'm in," replied Aya,"Eve must be destroyed. "Us too," added Crono,"Let's take them out!" "Where would they have gone..?" asked Tifa. "We're going to find out," replied Magus. "We're going to need new equipment and materia,"said Yuffie,"That shouldn't be too hard. I'll go with Reeve tomorrow and hit the shops for everyone. Is that ok?" "No problem here," answered Cloud,"Any objections?" No one answered. "Ok, just don't steal anything Yuffie." She nodded. "Well....meeting adjourned." Everyone stood up and began to leave the meeting room. "Danielle..." started Aeris. I turned to Sephiroth, "I'll be right there. Ok?" He nodded and continued to leave. "What's up, Aeris?" I replied. "Danielle, I'm worried about you. You look very pale." "It's probably stress. I'm ok. I'll see you tommorrow, alright?" I hugged her reassurringly and left the inn, following after Sephiroth. ******* The tall dark-haired girl watched as everyone left the room. She noticed Brandy and me. 'So...here they are..I'll continue to follow them and see what's up..' She walked into the inn, the lights glinting on her sniper rifle and the pistols in her belt. She paid for a room and immediately went to bed. ******* (4:00 AM Monday, Oct. 2nd.) I sat up in bed as the Planet sent a warning call to my mind. 'Something's wrong...' I thought. I got out of bed pulling on my robe. As I looked out the window, a strong red glow shone through... 'Oh my God!' I ran into Sephiroth's room and woke him up. He immediately had the Masamune to my neck. "It's ME, Sephiroth! The whole village is on fire!" Sephiroth removed the blade. "Meet me downstairs in two minutes," he replied. I ran back into my room and quickly got dressed, put my sword sheath on my belt and ran downstairs and into the night with Sephiroth at my side. ******* "My God..." I whispered as the whole village burned. Avalanche, Crono's group and Aya came out of the inn. "Sephiroth!" shouted Cloud,"Are you burning another village!? Wasn't Nibelheim enough?" Sephiroth looked like he was going to strangle Cloud as the true cause for the fire floated down from the sky. "Jenova!" I spat. "Well, well...the Cetra bitches and their dogs. Enjoy a firey hell." She used Flamethrower on us and sent another blast at my house! Then she disappeared. "Aqualung!" responded Sephiroth. The flames went out around us and stopped the blast from reaching my house. "Cid, get the Highwind and airlift any survivors to Bone Village! Everyone look for people who need help! Crono, get your team over to the Epoch and get it into the Highwind's cargo bay for safekeeping!" I shouted. They nodded as Sephiroth and I began to extinguish the flames around the village with the Aqualung spell. "Sephiroth...behind you!" I shouted. Sephiroth drew his sword and spun quickly slicing the Bandersnatch in half. "Incoming!" shouted Cloud as a whole pack of them began to attack us. "They had to pick NOW to come attack!?" complained Barret, shooting 2 of them with his Missing Score. I took down another two with my sword as Cloud used an Ultima to take out 3 more. "How many more!?" asked Tifa, taking another out with her Premium Heart. "This is more than one pack!" shouted Red,"This is probably 3 packs banded together!" He used his Cosmo Memory and took down another 2. Vincent shot down another 3 as they tried to sneak up on Cloud. Zack went down as another re-opened the wound on his chest. Aeris ran over to him and was beginning to cast a spell. Cloud used a Shadow Flare to take out another 3 as Sephiroth dispached the last one. By now, the village had burned to the ground. Cloud's PHS began to ring. "Cloud? It's Cid. I managed to get all the survivors over to Kalm including the survivors from the Bone Village accident." "What accident?" he replied. "According to Aya, a horde of Eve's mutations attacked while you were busy over in Icicle Village. I'll be back to pick you guys up in about thirty minutes." "Ok, Cid. Good work. Cloud out." ******* (8:00 AM Oct. 2nd, Highwind Operations room) "The only building left standing is Danielle's house," said Brandy. "Damn Jenova!" cursed Cloud angrily,"It's not bad enough she burned Nibelheim using Sephiroth, now she burns Icicle Village just to ruin Danielle and Aeris's hometown!" Sephiroth looked like he was about to slit Cloud's throat, but I interveined. ''It was all Jenova's fault..." I said holding back my anger. "It's ok, Danielle. We'll get her back. We'll make sure they stay dead too!" replied Sephiroth momentarily forgetting Cloud. I nodded and looked out the window dreaming of revenge. "Why would Jenova do that....there was no goal... and that doesn't make sense," questioned Red. "I don't know but I'm going to kick her ass good!" responded Cid. "I'm with you on that one," added Tifa, "She's going to pay for what she's done." Aeris was taking care of Zack who had recieved that wound from a Bandersnatch. "Now what do we do?" I asked quietly. "We go pick up Crono, Aya, and the others from cleaning up Bone Village and get new equipment for them," replied Cloud.  
  
"We should go to Wutai. It's the best place," said Yuffie fighting her airsickness. "That's a good idea for once, squirt," smirked Cid. "Shut up Old Man!" "Ol-- why I oughta...." "Enough! Cid, set a course for Bone Village, then Wuati. Yuffie, try not to throw up and everyone else, try to get some rest. I have a feeling something big is going to happen," snapped Cloud. Everyone nodded and left, Yuffie moaning the whole way out. I was exhausted, so I went to my cabin to take a nap. ******* Sephiroth stood next to Vincent on the observation deck watching the scenery. "Have you got her a ring yet?"asked Vincent reading the expression on Sephiroth's face. "She is only a friend from the past, Vincent," he mumbled. "I think there's more to it than that. After you rescued her in Junon, it was obvious." Sephiroth suddenly found the scenery fascinating. "Ahh.. I was right... May I see?" he asked. Sephiroth withdrew the black box from his pack and handed it to the ex-turk. "This is a very beautiful ring. When are you going to ask her..?" "I don't know... She hasn't decided on judgement over her feelings. She is still very confused." "I see your point..." Vincent handed the ring back and he replaced it in his pack. "I'll try to talk to her when she wakes up..." whispered Sephiroth. ******* (Bone Village, 9:00 AM) "Aya, is that the last of them?" asked Lucca. "I think so, Eve can only create a few at a time. She doesn't have much control over that power before she drains her energy." "That's good. Here comes the Highwind," stated Crono. "I'm tired! Let's go rest," said Marle exhausted. She had used nearly all her energy for magic healing and it was taking its toll on her. "Alright. That takes care of everything. Good work everyone," said Aya. They boarded the Highwind and Cid switched course to Wutai. ******* "Cloud? Is something wrong..?" asked Tifa as she stood beside him. "No..I'm just thinking about the future..." he replied. "Relax! Think about the present for a little while or you'll stress yourself to death! Then I won't have anyone!" she scolded, smiling. Cloud smiled too, "So, what's up? Besides the obvious I mean." She laughed. "Well..." ******* (10:00 PM)  
  
"Ayla like Avalanche. Like Aya too. They strong. Help beat Lavos. We kill Jenova too." "You're right. They do seem to be an interesting group of characters." said Crono. "What is Materia, Robo?" asked Marle. "They are little orbs of unknown substance that allow the user to cast very advanced magic and call upon summons in battle. Others allow you to support your magic and make it stronger and different ones can work independently without any magic power used. An example of this one would be the Long Range materia. Cloud told me that even if in the back row or against a monster that floats far away, you can attack it and cause damage. "Woah..." said Lucca thinking about all the scientific theories she could create with such an item.. ******* "Hi," said Aya. "Oh, hello," replied Aeris. "Are you alright?" asked Aya sitting next to the brunette, "What's troubling you?" "Zack. He's being so stupid. He still pines for my sister even though she STILL hasen't decided, although, after that rape attempt, it should be obvious. I have a huge crush on him but...he just ignores me." "Well, men are stupid sometimes. It takes a lot to get them to listen. Tell him how you feel. If that won't get his attention, hit him with your Princess Guard. It always works." Aeris laughed. "Ok, thanks for cheering me up." Aeris picked up her staff and rushed off to find Zack. ******* In this dream, I was in the Lifestream, my mother floating in front of me. "Danielle, I know you are confused, and that you don't know your way." "I am. I don't know what to do anymore! I still can't make my descision because I know I will hurt somebody." "You have my desire to not hurt people, like your sister. I cannot tell you what your future holds, but always know that they will accept whatever desicion you make. As will I." I nodded. "I'm just so confused..." Ifalna smiled. "I must go now, my daughter. Please be careful. I love you." "I love you too, Mom. I will be careful." Suddenly, my vision went black. ******* (12:00, noon) I sat up from my sleep feeling a lot better. I brushed out my tangled hair and went off in search of Sephiroth. I found him on the outside observation deck watching the scenery. "Hello, Sleeping Beauty," he said smiling at the joke. "Oh, very funny," I replied sarcastically, hugging him, "What's up?" "We're almost to Wutai... We should hang out while we're there. Just for a while." "Sounds fun," I replied. 'Maybe I can sort out my feelings too....' I thought.  
  
"Danielle, are you listening...?" asked Sephiroth a few minutes later. "Sorry Seph, I blanked out. What?" "I said, maybe we could try to climb the Pagoda. I heard Yuffie did it. If she can, we can. It'll be fun." "Well.... ok. I know Godo from when I was on the run from Shinra a few years ago. I think we'll be allowed." Sephiroth smiled.  
  
Around the corner, Zack could hear every word. 'I don't think so, Sephiroth. She'll be MINE.' He smiled and walked away to think up a plan.  
  
"I hate it that you always stand alone, Seph. I mean, you could at least TRY to talk to some of the others." "True, but most of them still hate me." "That doesn't mean you can't be a little more open with your feelings. Talk to Vincent. You and him have a lot more in common than you think." "How is that?" "That isn't for me to say. It's up to him to decide if he wants to tell you." "I see," he replied. "Aeris is someone good to talk to as well. She's always willing to lend a hand if you need help. So am I. As for the others, It'll take them a little while to let go of the past. Eventually, they will accept you. I promise." "Alright, I'll take your word on it." ******* Cloud stood at his place at the window, watching Sephiroth and I talk. Tifa came up behind him. "You know, I still find it hard to believe that Sephiroth is changed. He is still so cold and distant. It's very hard for me to sit in a meeting and see him there without drawing my sword." "I know what you mean. I'm still mad at him....but Aeris is right. He was just as much a victim of Jenova as you were. You're practically brothers." "Don't even SAY that Tifa, it's not true. I'm nothing like HIM." "You're both more alike than you think. Anyway, I was thinking. Maybe it's time to let go...I mean, true, he destroyed our hometown, but still, he has changed. I can see it in his eyes when he talks to Danielle. If he could get his hands on Jenova, I guess he'd tear her limb from limb if he got the slightest chance." "I know what you're saying.... but it's just so hard. Almost a month ago, he tried to destroy the Planet, now, he's fighting WITH the people who killed him AND is falling in love with the sister of the woman he KILLED." "See, he has changed. You just said it yourself." Cloud smiled at the trap she caught him in. "Alright... I'll try to be a little nicer to him. I think it's finally time to close that chapter of the past, and open the next chapter of the future." Tifa smiled and hugged him as they both watched our conversation. ******* (Wutai, 2:00 PM) "Come on! I'll race you to the Pagoda!" I said, challenging him. "Danielle, you could never beat me in a race when we were children. How do you expect to beat me now?" he replied. While his back was turned, I swallowed a Speed Source. I walked up next to him. "Ready, set....GO!" I shouted. We took off through the town like bullets. Anyone who saw us only saw a black and red blur. "So, you CAN keep up!" he shouted. The race stayed neck and neck up until we were a block away from the Pagoda. I put on an extra burst of speed and beat Sephiroth by two steps. "You have gotten better," I panted. "So have you. How did you beat me?" he replied. "Talent," I answered as we walked inside.  
  
"Hey Gorkii!" I said. "Miss Danielle! You have returned to Wutai!" "I'm just visiting with Avalanche. My friend and I wish to climb the Pagoda. Can we?" "Yes. You know it is one- on-one. You will have to take turns." "I know. I'll go up first. Then my friend will go." "Very well." Shake came downstairs. "Hey, Danielle. Climbing the Pagoda?" I nodded. "Alright." Gorkii walked forward. He transformed into the winged creature and began to attack. "Oh no you don't!" I said, using a barrier spell. It appeared and the blows were blocked. I unsheathed my sword and jumped up into the air. "Shing Sword!" I shouted. I flipped in the air and came down at Gorkii, sword first. I slashed him a good one and jumped back. He changed back, panting. "Very good, Miss Danielle! Here I am!" "Yes. Are you alright?" "Yes. Go on upstairs." I smiled and followed Sephiroth and Shake upstairs.  
  
As I got ready for the next battle, Chektov came downstairs. "Hey! No one's gotten past Gorkii since Yuffie came! What's up, Danielle?" "Hi Chektov." "Alright, Danielle! You'll have a hard time getting past me!" said Shake. "Not today!" I replied. He stepped forward and transformed into his penguin like form. I set up a barrier and blocked his rage bomber attack. "DeBarrier!" he replied. My barrier shattered. He used his rage bomber again and slammed into me. Sephiroth started forward but Chektov held him back. "She has to do this alone," he whispered. Sephiroth nodded and watched as I got up. He saw the anger in my eyes. "Uh oh...." he whispered. I jumped up into the air again. "Ultima Shower!" I threw my hands forward and an Ultima spell flew from my body and rained down hard on Shake. He fell down and changed back. I landed on my feet. I helped him up and used a Cure spell on him. "Are you alright?" "Yeah. That is an awesome Limit! I think Godo better watch out." I smiled. "Go on upstairs." I nodded and went up, Sephiroth following.  
  
Staniv came downstairs a few moments later. "So, now I get to watch... Good luck, Danielle!" "Thanks." "Alright Danielle, you'll enjoy this fight. I won't go easy on you," said Chektov. "Good," I replied. He transformed into a four armed monster. I didn't bother with my barrier, instead, drawing my sword, I ran forward and slashed him a couple of times. He countered by using a poison attack. I ignored it and summoned Alexander. A giant robot like thing appeared overhead and landed behind me. It's helmet opened and a laser of Holy energy lashed around him. Then the energy exploded, sending him flying. The poison sapped some of my strength as one of his pincers tried to stab me. I dodged and used a Comet spell. It slammed into him and he fell down, transforming back. "You have gotten better," he said, standing up. "Of course!" I cured the poison and turned to see Sephiroth smiling. "You're doing great. Come on, let's go." I smiled back and we went upstairs.  
  
As Staniv and I prepared to duel, The others came through and went upstairs. "No one will watch our duel?" I asked. "No. They go to await at the top of the Pagoda. This may be a 5 storied Pagoda, but this floor is the highest you'll go." "Not today, Staniv!" He transformed into a creature swinging an iron ball. He whacked me with it. I let him have it with my sword for a counter attack. I then launched into a version of Yuffie's Bloodfest, slashing like crazy. I finally finished and jumped away. He whacked me one last time and changed back. "Very good. Miss Yuffie used that move on me. I couldn't handle it. Go on upstairs." Then we all went upstairs, preparing for a good fight.  
  
"Danielle, you have grown much since I last saw you," said Godo, bowing. "It is good to see you again, Lord Godo," I replied. "So, you have climbed the Pagoda. I am suprised, but you'll not get past me." "It's not over til I say it's over, Godo," I answered. "We shall see... Omni Change!" He transformed into a three-faced creature holding a BIG sword. I looked at Sephiroth who only nodded. I turned back. I focused on his attack. He used his Beast Sword. It caused a big explosion and knocked me off my feet. I countered with a Wall and an Ultima. The explosion rocked Godo, but he still stood strong. He began to drain some of my energy and used it for his own. I used an enemy skill called Magic Hammer, to take away most of his magic power so he wouldn't be able to use his spells. I jumped up and slashed him. He used his Trine spell. I took the brunt of the damage and used my Ultimate Limit. "Sword of Life!" I raised my sword to the sky and a giant beam of energy came out of it and into the heavens. I jumped into the air and brought my sword down, the beam hitting Godo. I then slashed him about 10 times and jumped away. He changed back and fell to the floor panting. I fell to my knees, breathing hard myself. "You... have gotten... better," wheezed Godo. "What... did...you expect?" I answered. Then we both started laughing. Eventually, we stood up, wiping tears from our eyes. He hugged me and smiled. "You have gotten much stronger since you left here. I am proud to admit defeat to someone so talented." Everyone began clapping. "Thanks everyone. It was fun. I needed more practice anyway. I got what I wanted, and I saw my friends again," I replied hugging everyone. "Do you still want to climb?" I asked Sephiroth. "No, Cloud just paged me. He said we need to get back to the Highwind, quickly." "Alright." "Danielle, here take this," said Godo. He handed me a pendant. "It's not much, but it's a gift. You are now a member of the Pagoda." I was shocked. "Maybe, when the fight against Jenova is over, you'll come back here," he said, "This is also a sign that you'll always be welcome here in Wutai." "Thank you, Godo," I said bowing. "Come on, Danielle." I nodded and we left the room. "She will be a strong woman," said Godo. "Nothing will stand in the way of her dreams..." ******* "What's the rush Cloud?" I asked when we returned to the airship. "Bugenhaegen called us on PHS. He said that we may find something that will help in the Ancient City. So, I want you, Red, and Sephiroth to go check it out. I looked at Sephiroth. "Alright. I think I know what Bugenhaegen was talking about. We'll do it," I replied. Red padded over to me. "We're going to look for the hidden libraries seprately," he whispered, "It'll give you time to think." "Thanks," I replied. Sephiroth raised a silver eyebrow, but I just smiled and looked innocent. "The rest of us are going to stay here in Wutai and get Crono's team and Aya some new equipment. Agreed?" asked Cloud. Everyone nodded. Sephiroth and I went to get our chocobos and rig up something for Red. ******* (Wutai Ocean, 4:30 PM) "You ok over there, Red???" I asked over the sound of the waves. We had tied a raft to our chocobos which he stood on. "I'll be ok, just get us to the City without me falling off!" I smiled and looked at Sephiroth. "It'll be another couple of hours til we get there," he said. I nodded, and returned to watching out for monsters. ******* (Highwind, same time) "Cloud! You sent SEPHIROTH with Danielle and not ME?! Why???" exclaimed Zack. "Because, you are on probation. You are not to go anywhere near her until I say otherwise. That was unexcusable what you tried to do to her. It's a wonder she hasn't beaten you to a pulp by now." Zack looked astonished and then angry. "I can't believe this! I thought you were my best friend!" "I AM, but I also have to look out for this team. So, I have passed judgement. Stay away from her." Zack stormed out of the room. ******* "Ahh, I see one of my 'sons' is near his limit... maybe I should..." whispered Jenova," I'll take him... when the time is just right. Then that Cetra bitch won't stand a chance." ******* (City of the Ancients, 6:30 PM) Red, Sephiroth, and I walked into the city. "Glad to be off the raft?" I asked teasingly. "That wasn't fair! I was almost seasick and there you two were just laughing and gazing at each other! Oops..." he said. I waved off the comment. "I say we explore for a little while. It's almost dark anyway. We'd never be able to see anything. I want to see more of this place," I said. "Well...." started Red. "Please....?" I asked, pouting halfway. Sephiroth smiled. "Oh fine," commented Red, "Enough with the pouting face!" I started giggling as he took the lead. "You still know how to get your way, don't you?" Sephiroth asked me quietly. I was too overcome with laughter to speak so I just nodded. He led us into a cave with a lot of water rushing from somewhere up above. "This is where Cloud and the rest of us discovered what Aeris was praying for....before.... the accident," he said, looking at Sephiroth apologetically. Sephiroth just waved off the comment. I walked forward alone into the water room with the vision crystal. I gasped as the normal pictures of Aeris were replaced by pictures of me, in what seemed like the crater. "Danielle, are you alright?" shouted Sephiroth. "Guys! Come see this!" I answered. Red and Sephiroth suddenly ran in and stood next to me, looking at the pictures. "My word..." whispered Red. "That's the crater..." said Sephiroth to himself. Suddenly, I saw something stab through my chest in the images. The picture faded and was replaced by the normal scenes of Aeris. I looked into Sephiroth's eyes and saw quiet alarm there. Soon, I heard the voices of the Cetra in my ears. What they said shocked me so much, I fainted. ******* (Junon, 6:45 PM) Zack found himself in the office of the Turks. "What do you want, Avalancher?" asked Reno. "A target taken out. Permanately." Reno sat up in his chair. "Depends on who, and how much cash we get." "Sephiroth Alexandros." "Sephiroth!?!? What are you, insane?" "I'm getting that way. How about 10,000,000 gil for your trouble?" Reno looked thoughtful. I'll have to talk this over with the others. Leave me your PHS number and I'll call you with our descision." Zack wrote it down, and left. ******* (Ancient City, 7:30 PM) I woke up facing the roof of one of the shell houses. While I slept, I had another dream. It was so disturbing... I was finally able to see what my heart was telling me and actually figured out who I wanted. I sat up coming face to face with Red. "Where's Sephiroth?" I asked. "He went out. He said he'd be back later. I think he headed for the Forgotten Capital. I saw such turmoil on your face while you slept. Then peace. Did you have a bad dream?" he asked. "Yes, but it helped me choose. I've decided my judgement. Thanks for telling me where he went. I've got to find him." I threw off the sheets and pulled on my boots. I looked at the sky, grabbed my fire materia, and ran outside.  
  
I simply followed my senses to a house with a crystal staircase. As I walked down, I was really quiet, but I was amazed at the place I had found. I finally found Sephiroth on an altar in the middle of a crystal clear lake. His eyes were closed as if something was hurting him. I hopped across the columns quietly and came up beside him. "I see you're awake," he said distantly without turning. "Yeah..." "This place holds many memories... all horrible." "Then why are you here?" "To get away from other pain..." he whispered. I turned to him and clasped his hands in mine. "Is it...because of me...?" I asked quietly. He just looked out at the water refusing to answer me. "Sephiroth, if you don't want me here... I'll go..." "Stay, please. Your presence is comforting." "Are you sure...?" He nodded. 'I miss holding you in my arms... like that night at the dock...' he thought sadly. "Seph, talk to me.... tell me what's wrong." "Danielle, I'm not sure how much more of this life I can take. You hold the key to my future, and my past. Zack is almost ready to go to any means to get you and I don't want to see you hurt.  
  
Sephiroth stopped, closing his eyes again and gently holding onto my hands. "My hands are so stained now with blood, I don't deserve to even touch you....and yet, here I am. Even then...I'm still wearing these cursed gloves." I picked up his left hand and began to pull off the glove. "What are you doing? On that hand is..." "Your #1 tatoo. I know. No matter what kind of curse it is you think you carry in your hands, I'm going to prove it to you that you don't." I pulled off the glove completely and clasped his hand within mine. "Have I turned into a frog?" I asked. He shook his head no. I pulled off the other glove and held that hand too. "Do I look poisoned?" Again, he shook his head no. Suddenly, I kissed him. "Do I look like I'm going to die...?" I asked, smiling. He stood amazed for a moment then said, "I'm not sure. I need to test again." He smiled and kissed me again, with just as much passion like he had at the dock. I was breathless when he released me. "Now am I to die?" I asked. He smiled warmly. "No... I think you just became even more beautiful in my eyes," he answered. I smiled again. "I take it I've just figured out what you came down here to tell me?" I nodded. "I don't want to think of life without you, Sephiroth. I love you." "I've loved you since the day I rescued you from Hojo." He hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry it took me so long... things are always hard for me. Thanks to a dream, I finally understand what my heart was trying to tell me..." "It's alright... I understand," he replied, running his hand through my hair.  
  
"We'd better get back to Red before he starts a one beast search party," I said after a few minutes. Suddenly, something disturbed the calm water. "Let's go. Something's fishy. We're not alone." He nodded and tucked his gloves in his pocket. He held my hand and we left the place of the past. Finally, a horrible chapter in Sephiroth's life, was at rest. ******* Zack's PHS began to vibrate as he sat in his room on the Highwind. Cloud had told him to stay in there until it was time to go out for equipment. "Hello?" "Zack? This is Reno. We've talked it over and decided your offer is most generous. We'll take the job, but you'll have to ditch Avalanche. We can't take the chance you'll squeal to Vincent Valentine or Danielle Gast." "The reason I'm hiring you is so that Sephiroth will be out of my way and I can have Danielle. I will not quit Avalanche, but I won't squeal to anyone either. Take it or leave it Turk." ******* Yuffie straightened from over the toilet. She heard everything Zack was saying. Fighting her nausea, she climbed on top of it to get closer to the air duct. "Listen Reno, I'll up the price to 12,000,000 gil if you'll just take him out and leave Avalanche to me, especially Danielle and Vincent." Yuffie's eyes widened. "Oh no you don't, Zack..." she whispered. She ran out of the room and ran to find Cloud and Vincent. ******* "Cloud, Vincent, Sephiroth's in danger. So is Danielle. Zack's hired the Turks to take out Sephiroth just so he'll get Danni. I don't know about you, but I'm not letting Zack get away with this. He said he'd take care of you in the future, Vincent. He doesn't care about Danielle, he only lusts for her. I guessed that from his attitude toward his punishment," said Yuffie, short of panicing. "Relax, Yuffie. Vincent, get up to the Ancient City. Quickly. I know your hearing is better than Danielle's and Red's, I need you to make sure the Turks don't get away with their job." Vincent nodded. "Take Brandy with you. She'll be able to help since she used to be a Turk herself." Vincent walked out of the room to find Brandy. "Yuffie, get Cid, Barret, and Aeris immediately. Thanks, I'm glad you were in the right place at the right time. Danielle would never forgive me if something happened before she made her decision." Yuffie smiled and nodded, running to complete her orders. ******* "There you two are! You'll never believe this, but when I was looking around the house, I stepped on a rock and found one of the hidden libraries!" exclaimed Red. "Are you serious!?" I answered, excited. I still held Seph's hand. Red noticed and smiled. "I'm very serious. Come, I'll show you." He turned and padded away. It suddenly dawned on me WHO was in the Forgotten Capital besides us. "RED GET BACK HERE!!!" I shouted, running after him. Sephiroth looked confused then realized why I was after him. "Nanaki!" he shouted, taking chase as well. ******* "Hey Zack, we're going for the Turtle's Paradise buffet. You're coming, right?" asked Aeris. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming. Let's go find Cloud."  
  
After they left, Cid and Barret walked in and began setting up bugging equipment. "Trying to steal Danni, are ya? I don't think so..." whispered Cid. "Hurry it up, or Zack will notice we're not at the buffet. That's unusual for me!" "Almost done..." he said, using his screwdriver to put the recorder in place, "Gotcha! Let's go." He turned it on and they left. ******* Sephiroth and I walked into the hidden room, looking around at all the dust. "Wow, this place hasn't been opened in centuries..." I whispered. "That's correct. I believe these books will have something about Jenova and the Cetra in them," said Red. "Hey, this book isn't written in Cetra..." I said, picking a small book off the shelf. Sephiroth came to stand next to me. "If I'm correct.... That's Jenova's language... Red, is this correct?" he asked. I held the book out to the fire red beast. His eyes widened as he scanned the title. "It's Jenova's Diary!" I handed it to Sephiroth who opened it. I went over to the shelves and looked at the other titles. 'The Ultimate Summon...?' I picked it up off the shelf and began reading. "What did you find, Danni?" asked Red, as I sat on the floor. "Something about an Ultimate Summon. I'm having a little trouble translating it. It will take me a while." "Take all the time you need." I nodded and continued to translate. ******* "Sorry we're late Cloud. Cid was watching Dukes of Hazard again. I had to practically drag him away from the TV," explained Barret. "Yeah! I didn't even get to see what happens!" complained Cid. "It's alright. Come on, let's eat!" said Yuffie. 'My son.... return to me....' snaked Jenova's voice in Zack's head. 'Jenova...?' 'Yes... The Cetra is incapable to loving you, but I know what you really want with her. It's all here in your head. I can help you... Return to me...' 'Yes, mother... I will help you find the Promised Land...' Zack suddenly stood up and unsheathed his sword. "Zack...? What are you doing...?" asked Cloud, cautiously. "I am returning to my mother. I'll send you all into the Lifestream for her!!!" "Jenova! You F%^$#&* B*^&$ You won't get away with this!!!" cursed Cid. "Come out and fight me, Jenova! If you have the nerve to face me again!" shouted Aeris. "In due time.... In due time.... Until then, I must deal with something that stands in my way. Come Zack." Zack suddenly vanished in a bright light. Cloud looked at Aeris and Barret. "She's going after Danielle and Sephiroth! Cid, forget the Buffet! Get the Highwind ready to fly, NOW! Everyone, back to the airship! We'll have to leave Crono's team and Aya here for this time, Let's Move it!" Cid nodded and got out his PHS as they ran out of the resturant and back toward the Highwind. ******* As I sat on the floor reading, I heard a slight noise. Red's ears perked up and Sephiroth looked up from Jenova's diary. "You heard it too?" I whispered. They nodded and Sephiroth closed his book. Sephiroth stood up and silently went to the door. He looked out and I saw him visably relax. "It's just Vincent and Brandy," he said. "Why are they here?" I asked as my PHS began to ring. I sighed in annoyance and turned it on. "Hello?" "Danielle? Good, I got ahold of you. Listen, grab any books you need, get Red and Sephiroth and get out of the Ancient City and into the forest. NOW," said Cloud. "The forest...? Why?" "I don't have time to explain. Get Vincent and Brandy if they are with you. Go quickly." "Ok, Cloud." I hung up. "Guys, Cloud says that we need to grab any books we need, seal the library, and get into the woods, ASAP." "Why?" asked Red. "I dunno. He wouldn't tell me. He said it was urgent. We need to get Vincent and Brandy too." Red ran off to seal the library and I put both the books we had found in my backpack.  
  
"Jenova's coming...." stated Sephiroth. "No wonder we need to get into the forest. Let's move!" I said. Sephiroth nodded, grabbed my hand, and with Red, Vincent, Brandy, and the chocobos, we ran into the forest. ******* "Ahh, the Ancient City.... where I once called home... Torch it. If that Cetra bitch is here, she'll give away her location to save it." "Yes Mother." Zack pulled out a mastered Fire materia and began casting Fire 3 all over the city. It immediately bust into flames. ******* When I looked back I saw the first of the shell houses ignite. "No!" I said. I began to turn back, but Sephiroth grabbed my arm again. "No, it's a trap!" I then heard a voice in my head,  
  
'Little Cetra come out to play, I wish to see your blood. I am destroying your home by flame, Won't you come to save it all the same? Little Cetra come out to play, my son is here waiting for you...'  
  
I stopped suddenly. "Danielle! Come on!" said Vincent, helping Sephiroth pull me along. In a voice completely different from my own, I replied, "This Cetra has a different destiny. She must face Jenova and her son to save that which she treasures most. You, as guardians, may help her....or desert her and leave her to fight alone. Either way, she will fight. The other guardians and the other Cetra are coming as well. The time to choose is now." "I will never desert Danielle again!" said Sephiroth. Brandy nodded, Red howled, and Vincent cocked his gun in agreement. "Thanks you guys," I said in my normal voice. "What was that?" asked Red. "The Planet spoke through me. Now, let's face our destiny!" ******* Zack had set fire to only about 4 of the houses before Jenova sensed my presence. "Enough Zack." Zack stopped in the middle of the incantation. "I sense her too Mother." "Aqualung!" I screamed, my Enemy Skill materia glowing bright yellow as I unleashed the massive water spell upon the burning buildings. The fires ceased immedaitely but in my concentration, I had failed to notice Zack flying behind me, attempting to grab me.  
  
I heard a roar and a thud. Obviously, Red had tackled him. I shot forward at Jenova, Sephiroth at my side. Vincent, Brandy and Red were fighting with Zack. "Meddling Cetra Bitch!" she shouted. "What a perfect way to describe yourself!" I said. I jumped up into the air. "Ultima Shower!" I sent a huge volley of Ultima spells at Jenova. "Shang sword!" shouted Sephiroth. He did an exact copy of my Shing Sword adding an Ice spell to the blade. Jenova cursed and used her tenticles and slapped me, knocking me off my feet. Zack cast his Fire 3 spell at the others and gliding over to Jenova, they dissappeared after leaving a parting Ultima shot. I passed out. ******* "Danni!" said Sephiroth as I passed out from the spell. He caught me before I hit the ground. Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Sephiroth immediately shielded me with his body, feeling the bullet go into his shoulder. He grit his teeth and held on to me as Vincent, Brandy, and Red chased after the Turks. Sephiroth passed out too, landing at my side, holding my unconsious form. ******* "Dammit Elena! You missed!" scolded Reno as they ran through the forest toward their chopper. "I did not, I hit him...I just missed the vital organs," she explained. "We won't get paid til he's dead. We'll have to try something else. They knew we were coming," Reno replied. Rude said nothing but aimed a few shots at Vincent and Brandy. Brandy drew her gun which she used in emergencies and fired. 'That's Brandy's gun... I'd know it anywhere...' thought Elena as she jumped into the helecopter and they took off. "Damn! They got away," cursed Brandy. "Come on. Let's get back." ******* "They're both alive, just passed out," said Vincent after checking our pulses. "The Highwind will be here soon. I wouldn't move them til then." Red called Cloud on PHS and told him to have a medic team ready when they got here. Brandy bit her lower lip and looked at Sephiroth's bullet wound. "Damn, it's in there deep. We gotta get it out or I can't seal it," she said. Red cured my wounds and let me sleep. "Here comes the Highwind," commented Vincent. Cloud, Barret, and Cid ran over. "What happened?" Cloud asked. "Jenova left us with a parting Ultima shot and the Turks nearly accomplished their goal. Luckily, Elena was always a bad shot. The bullet is in his shoulder deep," explained Red. Barret, Cloud, and Cid picked up Sephiroth and carried him back to the ship's infirmary. Vincent picked me up and carried me as well. ******* (2 hrs later) I woke up groggy, my arms and legs stiff from sleeping on the hard beds of the infirmary. I sat up and noticed Sephiroth sleeping on the next bed over. I quietly got out of bed and went on the above deck to see Cloud and Tifa speaking with Vincent. "Hey," I said stretching my arms, "What's up?" "Cloud was just telling me what happened with Zack. When he found out about being on probation, he went to the Turks and tried to have Sephiroth taken out. During the buffet, Jenova summoned him and he snapped," explained Vincent. "I thought so. He would definately have snapped when I returned. I made up my mind. He wouldn't have liked it," I said, shaking my head. "We're on our way back to Wutai. We're going to check into the inn and decide what to do tomorrow." I nodded and looked over at the sleeping Sephiroth through a window. "What..." "He took a bullet to the shoulder. He'll be alright," said Vincent. I nodded and turned to Cloud. "Why would Zack hire the Turks...?" I wondered aloud. "You need to ask Yuffie. She's the one who found out," said Cloud. I nodded and left to search for the airsick ninja. ******* I found Yuffie on the outer decks, losing her lunch as we flew over the crystal ocean. "You know, there's a way to stop that," I said smirking. "What? Come on Danni, I saved your butt from the Turks and Zack's plan. Please tell me how." I smiled and walked up to her. "Relax, and trust me. Ok?" She nodded. I concentrated and pushed on a point on her neck. "Feel better?" I asked. Yuffie's color changed from green to her natural color slowly. "Yeah... Thanks!" "Tell me. Why did Zack ask the Turks to do this...?" Yuffie frowned. "Well, judging by his reaction to his punishment, I believe that he was blinded by lust. It's probably got something to do with that bastard Hojo. He lost sight of the love you once had and was willing to take any means to get you to his bed..." "I see.... Now that I think about it... I really don't think it was love... probably just infatuation..." I said. I hugged the ninja. "Thank you, Yuffie. I'm glad you're around." She smiled and walked down into the bowels of the airship. I saw Wutai coming up and went back to the Infirmary to check on Sephiroth.  
  
When I walked in, he was sitting up and pulling on his boots. "There you are. I was worried." "I woke up a little while ago. We're almost back to Wutai." "I have a thought. Will you go out on a date with me while we're there? Just this once?" he asked. I smiled. "Oh, alright. but you know I hate wearing dresses so this is the only exception!" He smiled and we left the infirmary. I thought of something and went to find the Avalanche girls. (12:00 Noon) "Girls... I have a date later and I need HELP! I don't own a dress!" I said desperately. "With who?" asked Yuffie mischeviously. "That's for me to know and you to find out," I replied. "Where are you going?" asked Tifa. "The Golden Dragon," I replied. Yuffie whistled, "That's a VERY fancy resturant...you're going to need an awesome dress." "You know what this means..." started Brandy smiling. "SHOPPING TRIP!" they finished in unison. I groaned. 'The things I do for Sephiroth...' I thought. The Highwind touched down outside of Wutai and they grabbed me by the arms and dragged me down the ramp toward Madam Yang's dress shop. From the observation deck, Sephiroth watched in amusement and proceeded down the ramp himself. ******* (3:00 PM) "How about this one?" asked Yuffie holding up a jade green dress. "Nah.." I replied bored out of my mind. Tifa held up a light blue silk one. "This one?" I shook my head. "Stop being so picky! You only have 3 more hours until it's time! Will you pick one already!?" complained Brandy. I stood up and and went to a rack. I withdrew a dress with a black vest top part and a gold satin skirt. "Can everyone agree with THIS ONE?" I asked. They nodded and I went to try it on. "We've been here for three hours and the perfect dress was there the whole time!" said Yuffie. It fit me perfectly. I came out of the small dressing room. The skirt flowed around me in waves. "That's an awesome dress," said Tifa. "Madam Yang! We'll take this one!" shouted Yuffie. The woman jerked awake having dozed off about an hour ago. "About time Yuffie!" she replied. I went and changed back into my normal clothes. '350 gil!?' I thought as I looked at the tag. Yuffie had talked the older woman into adding in a pair of black high heels and a gold shawl for me. "Since you're a friend of Yuffie's, I'll let that one go for 215 gil." I nodded and handed over the money. She put the items in a large dress box and we left. I returned to our room at the Leviathan Inn to get ready. ******* (6:00 PM) Sephiroth stood outside the door holding a large boquet of roses behind his back and ringing the buzzer. He wore a black tux and his long silver hair flowed down his back in shining silver waves. I opened the door and smiled at him. "Hi," he said amazed. "Hi," I replied smiling, "What..? Do I look bad?" Sephiroth broke off his stare and held out the boquet. "How lovely!" I said smelling the scent, "Thank you." I quickly went inside and put them in a vase of water and left arm in arm with Sephiroth. ******* Yuffie, Brandy, Tifa, and Aeris left the inn about 2 minutes after we did carrying a video camera. "Should we be following them?" asked Aeris. "YES!" they replied. Brandy turned on the video camera and began filming. "Hello, this is Yuffie Kisaragi for Avalanche Girls News. We are here tonight to whitness the date between Sephiroth Alexandros and Danielle Gast. Let's see what will happen on this magical night," started Yuffie looking at the camera as Tifa laughed at the crafty name for the new video. ******* (10 mins later) We stepped into the resturant and I folded my shawl and put it over my arm. "Names please," said a waiter behind a podium. "Sephiroth Alexandros, party of two." "Right this way, sir." He began to lead us toward the back of the resturant. Sephiroth noticed that I was getting a lot of attention from the men in the resturant. Sephiroth pulled out my chair for me and then sat down himself. "Thank you." I said. The waiter laid down 2 menus and left. "Sephiroth... how can you afford this? It's all so expensive..." "I have my ways," he replied, "You look absolutely beautiful tonight." I blushed. "Thanks. You look great, I've never seen you wear a tux before." "I don't like them really, but I made an exception for you." he replied as I smiled. ******* Brandy filmed through the window of the resturant as Yuffie continued to comment. "We spent 3 hours in Madam Yang's dress shop looking for that dress and it turns out that the Great Sephiroth also went to a great means to impress Aeris's little sister. I wonder what's going to happen...?" she said. "We can't hear anything!" complained Aeris. "We'll have to make due. It's the best we've got," replied Tifa. ******* (7:30 PM) "This is all so wonderful, Sephiroth." I took a final bite of my steak. "I can't eat anymore..." I said pushing the plate away. "You can't eat much can you?" he replied laughing. I shook my head. "Well, I have one more thing for you..." he said reaching in his pocket. "No," I said, "Take it back. This has been way too expensive already." "I can't take this back, besides, you're worth it." He knelt beside my chair in perfect view of the window. "Danielle, I love you with all my heart...." ******* "Oh my God! He's gonna propose!" said Brandy excitedly. "We've gotta hear her answer!" said Tifa. "I don't believe it!" exclaimed Yuffie. ******* Sephiroth pulled the velvet box from his pocket. "Danielle, you are the core of my being. I can't live without you and I don't want to have to. Would you make me the happiest man alive...and marry me?" He said opening the box. I gasped as the diamond and aquamarines shone in the light. "Sephiroth...I don't know what to say..." "Say yes. I hope." The whole resturant had gone quiet to see what I would say. I nodded gently. "Then, yes. I will marry you." He smiled, put the ring on my finger, and kissed me. ******* "I think we have our answer," said Brandy taping everything. "I think we should get out of here," said Aeris, "They're about to leave." "This concludes the date between Danielle and Sephiroth. Until next we meet, this is Yuffie Kisaragi, Avalanche Girls News." Tifa laughed as Brandy turned off the camera and they ran off. ******* (9:30 PM) Sephiroth was paying the check when they ran off. I looked out the window and saw Brandy, Tifa, and Aeris round the corner. 'So..They WERE here...' I thought smugly. Sephiroth came back and I put on my shawl as we stepped out into the night to return to the inn. "It's beautiful tonight..." I said as we continued to walk. Sephiroth looked at the heavens. The sky was filled with stars and a crescent moon. "It is beautiful tonight..." he replied, "...but you are more beautiful than any star." I blushed and continued to walk by his side. Sephiroth walked me back to the door of the room I shared with the Avalanche girls and kissed me. "Good-night Danni." "Good-night, Seph." He smiled, turned, and walked down the hall. I opened the door and shut it quietly hearing the girls in the living room watching the tape. "Here is where they are finishing.." commented Yuffie on the tape. "Oh my God! He's gonna propose!" said Brandy excitedly. They obviously hadn't noticed me yet. "So... you guys followed us," I said loudly, turning on the lights. They jumped at the sudden glare. "Damn! She caught us! I wanted to use this at the wedding!" complained Yuffie. "Oh, I knew you were there. I felt your presence all night, I just couldn't locate you without Sephiroth knowing something was wrong. I didn't know you had a video camera," I replied. "Can we see your ring?" asked Brandy. I held out my hand. The gems on my ring sparkled in the light. "I remember this ring!" said Tifa, "We saw it when we stopped in Icicle Village during the fight with Sephiroth. Remember, Yuffie?" "Yeah! It was the most expensive one in the shop!" the ninja replied. "He's had this since before the accident..." said Brandy. I went into my room and took off my dress and put on my dragon pajamas. I hung up my dress and shawl and put my shoes in the closet. I went back into the other room and sat on the couch watching the tape with them. I soon fell alseep. ******* ''10 gil says Cloud and Barret freak out when they find out Sephiroth and Danielle are getting married," said Yuffie. "My money's on Cloud for the biggest freakout," replied Brandy quickly. "I'll take that bet." "Shut up guys!" said Aeris, "She's sleeping." "Help me put her in bed," said Tifa. They gently picked me up and placed me in my bed. They left and went to bed themselves. 


	5. Chapter 5: Accusations

Chapter 5 Accusations (Oct. 3rd, 6:00 AM)  
  
I woke up the next morning to hear someone pounding on the door. "GO AWAY!" I shouted in reply. "This is the Wutai Guard! Open up at once!" I groaned and got up. I opened the door and glared at the Captain angrily. "What is it?" I asked. I still wore my pajamas and the others were still asleep. "Are you Danielle Gast?" he asked me. "Yeah, is something wrong?" I replied anxious to get back to sleep. I wouldn't be returning to sleep anytime soon. "You and everyone in Avalanche are under arrest for the murders of Lord Godo and the Pagoda Gods." "WHAT!?" I replied in amazement. "Detain her and the others in this room." I was immediately grabbed and someone pulled my arms behind my back and put handcuffs on me. The other guards went after the sleeping girls. "Tifa, Yuffie, Aeris, Brandy!" I shouted, "Wake up and get out of here NOW!" The guard that held me slapped me and put a hand over my mouth. The girls obviously didn't hear me since I heard shouts of anger coming from the bedrooms as the girls were led out handcuffed. "What's going on here!? I'm Yuffie Kisaragi! Daughter of Lord Godo! Release me at once!" The guards dragged us to the prison and there we were separated. "Take them to the cell with the others," said the captain, motioning to Tifa, Yuffie, Aeris, and Brandy. "This one will go to the interrogation room." "Yes, Sir!" ******* Crono woke up the guys in his group and showed them a newspaper. The headline said, 'AVALANCHE ARRESTED FOR MURDERS OF PAGODA GODS.' "That isn't true," said Robo, "They were at a meeting with us last night. Except for Sephiroth and Danielle, that is." "We have to think of a way to get them out of there," said Magus, "Although I don't want to say it, They can help us. We may need them, and that Danielle girl... I sense strong magic in her. I want to know what she is." Frog nodded. "I hath sensed it as well. To findeth them and rescue them would be the best thing." "We'll have to wait a while. Let the girls sleep. We need Lucca awake to think up a battle plan," said Crono. ******* "Where's Danielle?" asked Sephiroth as the girls were shoved in. He hoped that I had been able to escape so I could rescue them after finding Crono's team and Aya. "They took her to the Interrogation Room," answered Tifa from Cloud's embrace. 'Damn it!' thought Barret. "Oh F^&% !'' shouted Cid as Sephiroth paled visably. ******* (6:30 AM) "Why did you murder Lord Godo and the Pagoda gods?" asked the captain of the guard. "We didn't murder them," I replied, my green eyes blazing, "They are our allies! Yuffie is a member of our team!" One of the guards slapped me. I felt my lip split and blood began seeping out of the small wound. "Why!?" "We didn't do it!" The guard grabbed a nightstick and thumbed up the power a lot and shocked me with the electrical energy. "I ask one last time, girl... Why did you murder them!?" "I'll say it again, you bastard, WE DIDN'T DO IT!!" One of the guards tied the rope binding my hands to a chain hanging from the ceiling as another grabbed a coiled whip which he shook out... ******* (6:45 AM) My screams echoed through the base as I was repeatedly struck with the whip. Sephiroth heard the screams and reached out mentally to me. 'Danielle!' he shouted. 'How.... Are you...?' 'You have Jenova cells...I can speak in your mind. Are you alright?' 'Seph...it...hurts...so..much..' 'Danielle! Be strong!' he replied. I screamed again. ******* (7:30 AM) The whip struck me again causing another red slash on my back. "Stop," said a commanding female voice. In walked a girl in the cerimonial robes of Wutai. "Yuf...Yuffie..?" I stammered, coughing blood. "Why did you kill my father and the others?" she asked. "You...know..we..didn't..." I replied weakly. "Continue until she's ready to talk." The guard picked up the whip and raised it over his head, beginning another round. ******* Sephiroth paced around the cell nervously. He was really pale and on the verge of panic. "Sephiroth, calm down. She'll be alright," said Vincent. Another scream reached his ears. "Are you sure about that, Vincent?" he replied, "How can I be calm? My fiancee is being tortured!" Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Fiancee? Since when have you two been ENGAGED?" asked Cloud. "Are you serious!?" asked Barret. "Anyone have a problem with the fact Danielle is my fiancee?" said Sephiroth, dangerously. Brandy just stared on as an eerie silence settled over the team. ******* (10:30 AM) The guards roughly pushed me into the cell. I was so weak, I stumbled and fell in front of Cid, who caught me to save me from another wound. "It's Danielle!" he said loudly. Sephiroth kneeled beside me, examining my wounds. "This is bad. She has many cuts, and internal injuries. She could slip into a coma from loss of blood." "Can you heal her, Aeris?" asked Cloud. "No...there's an anti-magic field here. The only thing I can do is pray," she replied. Sephiroth pulled off his cloak and began tearing the black material into large strips. "There's...a Yuf..Yuffie... imposter..." I managed to whisper to Cloud. "Don't talk, Danni," said Brandy quietly, "Save your strength." "Is there any water left?" asked Sephiroth. Brandy knelt next to him holding a bowl of water. He dipped one of the strips into the water and began cleaning the cuts. "Ahh..." I moaned, "That hurts..." "I'm sorry, Danni. It has to be done." I nodded weakly and passed out. Sephiroth finished cleaning the cuts and with Brandy's help, used the larger strips for bandages. Then he picked me up, mindful not to touch my wounds and laid me on the cot on my stomach and pulled the blanket up to my shoulders. He sat next to me and let me sleep. ******* (same time) "You have done well, 'Yuffie'. Jenova and Lavos will be pleased," said Eve. "Thank you, Mistress. What shall I do with them..?" "Execute them, and then we shall not have to worry about them anymore." ******* (an hour later) "You are to be executed tomorrow at 10:00 AM," sneered one of the guards as they pushed a slightly beaten up Sephiroth into the cell. Sephiroth wasn't as bad off as I was. He only had a bloody nose and a cut lip paired up with a broken arm that his Jenova cells were speedily healing. "On what charge?" asked Red. "The murders of Lord Godo and the Pagoda gods. This is a very serious crime." "Daddy....is dead..?" whispered Yuffie, with tears in her eyes. "Yes, Lady Yuffie's father is dead. He was murdered last night at midnight. She says YOU are an imposter." "I am not the imposter! She is!" Yuffie replied, showing a photo and a certificate from her pocket. "These are a picture of my mother, father, and me as a baby, and this is my birth certificate. I never go anywhere without them." The guards kneeled. "You ARE Lady Yuffie!" "Nah duh! I'm the only me! You should know I HATE wearing my cerimonial robes! Now, let us out of here!" "You are free to go ma'am, but they must stay. They are still charged." Yuffie sighed and looked at Cloud. "I'll take care of it," she whispered. Cloud nodded and Yuffie was led out. Sephiroth returned to the cot and noticed my labored breathing. "Strife, Aeris. Come here," he said urgently. When they came to his side, they noticed as well. "She's not going to last much longer. She's fighting but... she needs to get to a hospital. Fast." "What can we do? All our weapons are back at the Inn and there's an anti- magic field in place," commented Cloud. Aeris nodded. She struggled for a few moments and managed to summon up a weak 'Healing Wind'. It healed Sephiroth's cuts and my breathing became a little easier. "That's the best I can do.. She'll be ok, for a little longer." Sephiroth nodded. "I know...Thanks Aeris." "Do you think Yuffie can do it..?" asked Brandy quietly. "We're doomed," replied Rufus. "That's not funny, Rufus!" she replied, hitting him playfully. "I have faith in her. If they torture any of us like they tourtured Danielle, I'm not sure if they would make it. We have limited resources... They might die..." responded Sephiroth. The night passed slowly for Avalanche, everyone silently praying and taking turns watching me. ******* Yuffie ran to the inn and managed to find Crono and team still trying to think up a plan. "Yuffie! How'd you get away!?" asked Lucca. "I proved I was the real Yuffie. There's an imposter of me running around. I've got a plan to help them. We need to get their gear and we need the Epoch. Danielle is hurt badly. Sephiroth and Aeris estimate she only has a little while left unless we get her medical attention as soon as possible." Yuffie grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. She began drawing up the plan and a map. "Crono, I need you, Magus, and Robo to be positioned here, in the woods. Ayla and Frog, I need you by the stream. Lucca and Marle, You lay down cover fire from the Epoch with the lasers and Marle's crossbow. There will be a lot of guards. We have to think of a way to get all of their equipment to them. I'll battle the imposter directly and will be positioned here. We need to end this battle as quickly as possible so we can get Danielle to the hospital. We have to be in position by 10:00. That is when the 'execution' will take place. Time is of the utmost importance." The crew nodded. "Aya, you go with Frog and Ayla and use your powers to cover them from behind. You three need to get their equipment back to them. I'll return Cloud's sword." Aya nodded. "Alright. Round up the equipment and get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Everyone left the room and Yuffie began to polish her shruiken. 'Tomorrow, you shall meet your end for killing my father.....' thought Yuffie bitterly. ******* (Oct. 4th. 10:00 AM) (Wutai execution grounds)  
  
The guards had everyone chained and were leading us toward the execution grounds..and the waiting executioner. I had barely managed to wake up that morning and was stumbling along, barely able to stand up. Sephiroth and Aeris were helping me as best they could, but the guards had no pity. When I stumbled, they would hit me in the back with the butt of their gun. The imposter was waiting there, wearing her robes. "You are all charged for murder. One of you may have escaped and taken half of my force, but I will find her. I still have almost a whole army waiting under my command. The sentence for you...is death. Aeris Gainsborough shall be the first to die." "NO! Leave her alone! Let me die first!" said Cloud. "How cute. Aeris shall die first. Then Tifa, Danielle, and Brandy. You, Cloud, shall be the last to fall," she said. "I think NOT!" shouted a voice. Cloud's Ultima Weapon was flying through the air as the Epoch soared overhead, laser firing. Cloud held up his chains and the mighty blade cut them easily and imbedded itself in the ground. He then grabbed it and began to cut everyone elses chains as many guards came up and began to fight. Crono, Magus, and Robo appeared from the forest as Ayla, Frog and Aya appeared by the stream and began returning everyone's equipment. Lucca and Marle continued to shoot oncoming guards with lasers and crossbow. Cloud cut my chain and Sephiroth led me away from the fight, noticing I had passed out again. Tifa came over to guard me as Sephiroth laid me down against a tree and summoned his sword to him. "Guard her with your life, Tifa." She nodded and assumed a battle stance as Sephiroth ran to join the battle. The person jumped from a roof, tossing my sword to Sephiroth. "Yuffie!" shouted Brandy as she used her burning rage. Yuffie threw her Conformer at the evil one and she ducked pulling out a Crystal Cross. "You and me, Girl! You and me!" "Gladly!" Yuffie replied running up and using her 'Doom of the Living' limit break. She began slashing like crazy for a few moments and then jumped away. "No magic," said the evil one countering with a Greased Lightning. "Fine," replied Yuffie, smiling and using her 'All Creation'. The bright red explosion sent the imposter off her feet but she was up again in a moment. They continued to exchange limit breaks for a few minutes til Yuffie got fed up and a red materia began to glow in her weapon. "Tidal Wave!" "What!?!?" shouted the evil one as Leviathan appeared and began charging it's energy. "You said NOTHING about summons!" Yuffie replied as the evil one was buried beneath the waves. The Epoch made another pass, lasers firing as well as the girls onboard. At least 15 enemies went down right there. Rufus and Brandy teamed up to take out another 5 as Sephiroth, Cloud and Crono cut through one after another. Magus had teamed up with Glenn and brought down another group. "Combustion!" shouted Aya, setting another group on fire with her Parasite Energy. "Ultimate End!" shouted Cloud, fed up with all the enemies. "It's about time!" shouted Barret as the first knight appeared. 13 attacks later, the flow of enemies stopped and Sephiroth hurried through the crowd to find Tifa kneeling at my side, feeling for a pulse. "We're losing her!" she shouted. Sephiroth hurridly picked me up as Lucca landed near Tifa and Sephiroth. "Jump in! Go get her help!" shouted Ayla from behind. Sephiroth and Tifa jumped in. "Meet us at Wutai Hospital!" shouted Tifa to the rest of the team as Lucca sped off. ******* (5 mins later) "We need a doctor, quick!" said Sephiroth as they ran inside. A doctor immediately came over. "Follow me, and we'll try to get her stabilized." They ran to an empty ER and quickly laid me down. "What happened?" he asked as he gave me a shot. "She was beaten. Tortured with a whip, nightstick, and slapped, while the rest of us sat in a prison cell, being framed for a murder," replied Sephiroth as the doctor began to examine me further and occasionally using major cure spells. "Her internal injuries are too bad, and she's fallen into a coma. She's stable for the moment, but she needs a mako, and blood transfusion. It's very risky. No woman has survived it." Sephiroth then did something that he hadn't ever done in his life: He prayed. "She has Jenova cells. She's no ordinary woman....but I don't know... I don't want to lose her..." ******* (same time) Yuffie strolled through her house, looking at the signs of the struggle. "Daddy... I'm so sorry..." she whispered. The rest of Avalanche and Crono's team had run to the hospital, while she came here. "Lady Yuffie?" said a man, who was wounded in the arm. He had come from the room that led to the secret basement. "Shake!" she replied, "You're not dead!" He shook his head. "Come with me, quickly. He led her down into the basement where she found the rest of the Pagoda gods. "Chektov! Gorkii! Staniv! You're all alive! Is my Father ok!?" she asked. "No, he's fading fast, Miss Yuffie," replied Staniv. They led her to another room where her father was lying on a cot, his chest bleeding badly. "Leave us," she commanded. "Yes, ma'am." They left and gently shut the door. "Daddy...?" she whispered kneeling next to the cot. "Yuff...Yuffie...?" "Hold on, Dad," she replied, digging out a green materia, "Full Cure." A bright light surrounded Godo and his wound healed. He sat up and hugged Yuffie. "My daughter... You came back." "Of course I did! I had to." "There is an imposter of you.. She tried to murder us. We couldn't hold her off." "It's ok. I took care of her, but she had her men torture Danielle. She wounded very badly. She also tried to have us executed. Danielle's at the Hospital. Last I heard, she was barely breathing and her pulse was fading fast." "Let's go see her. Maybe we can help somehow." Yuffie nodded as she and her father left the basement after curing the others. ******* (2 mins later) Sephiroth paced in the waiting room of the hospital, trying to decide what to do. 'Oh God, If you have any pity, let her be alright,' he prayed. Yuffie and Godo walked in and hurridly said 'hi' to the team who sat around the waiting room watching Sephiroth. "How is she?" Yuffie asked the warrior. "Bad. Her internal injuries have gotten worse. She's in a coma too. The doctor says she needs a mako, and blood transfusion," he replied. "The mako could kill her!" said Yuffie, alarmed. "I know. I haven't given the ok yet." "She probably won't make it if you don't," said Godo quietly, "You must make the desicion. Without the transfusion, she will surely die. With the transfusion, she has a chance, although a slim one. I can tell you care for her greatly. Make the choice in your heart. Give her that chance." Sephiroth sat in a chair and put his face in his hands. "I just can't lose her now..." ******* (11:07 AM) "Danielle," said Brandy as she sat next to my hospital bed, "I don't know if you can hear me, but you have to make it. You're my best friend. We have to see Marisol again, both of us. We promised to meet again someday. I know she's still alive. I know you can pull through this. You can't leave us yet. We still have to pulverize Jenova!" "Brandy," said Aeris poking her head in the door, "Time's up." Brandy nodded, set my backpack against the wall, and left right behind Aeris, tears slipping down her face. When she returned to Rufus, she collapsed into his arms sobbing quietly. "We need an answer NOW, Mr. Alexandros. Any further delay and you may miss the window of opportunity and it will be too late to save her," said Doctor Wright, "She needs this transfusion." Sephiroth nodded. "Do it." Wright nodded and hurried off. The team looked down the hallway as my bed was rolled out of the room and into the OR. "Be strong, Danni..." whispered Tifa. "Danielle strong. She no die," said Ayla confidently. "You're right. She won't give up," said Brandy. "She hath a strong spirit..and a good heart," added Frog. "She'll be ok," said Cloud reassuringly, "Don't worry." Sephiroth looked up from his prayer. "I hope you're right, Strife...I hope you're right." ******* The woman walked up to the hospital's glass doors and saw Avalanche waiting nervously in the waiting room. 'There's Brandy... Wait a sec! Where's Danielle!?' she thought. She shifted her sniper rifle on her back and walked back to the Inn. ******* (2:30 PM) The doctor finally came out of the OR and began to walk down the hall. "There he is!" said Brandy. Sephiroth looked up from his prayer and stood up. "How is she, Doc?" asked Barret, worridly. "The transfusion went well. She seems to be adjusting to the mako and materia energy in her body, but she's still in a coma. It should be breaking anytime now, but I'm not 100% positive. Other than that, She'll be fine." "Can we see her?" asked Red. "Only for a few minutes. She needs rest." The team came into my hospital room where I lay in bed, my chest wrapped in bandages. Sephiroth sat in a chair next to the bed and grasped my left hand. "Come on girl, wake up..." said Cid quietly. "Danni..." said Brandy loud enough for me to hear, "...Jenova's here!" The life signs on my monitors shot up and I opened my eyes and sat up. "Where!?" I answered. The team laughed as Brandy said, "Works every time." I smiled. The Avalanche team stared at my eyes. "What? Did I turn purple..? Sprout another arm..?" I asked, looking at myself. "No...your eyes...." whispered Lucca. "They're glowing..." whispered Marle. "It's from the mako. She just like a Soldier, except she has materia fused into the mako to counteract the poison," said Dr. Wright, walking in. "My god...." whispered Tifa. Godo smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry for everything that has happened. I hope this will not make you hate Wutai." "No, of course not. I blame that imposter." "She was created by Eve," said Aya, "I could sense the mutated Mitochondria." "Solves that mystery...How long do I have to stay? I've got some alien butt to kick!" I said. "At least 2 days, to be sure you've recovered enough." "You are strong," said Godo, "Someday, I would like you to come teach a special elite of fighters and train them in the art of materia and maybe, someday, they will be of help to Avalanche." "I might take you up on that. When this job is finished anyway," I replied. Sephiroth smiled. "Alright everyone, the paitent needs rest, out." "Alright. Heal fast, Danni. We're not going anywhere without you, ok?" said Cloud. "Deal." Cloud and the rest of the team left after saying good-bye, but Sephiroth was allowed to stay with me. ******* (2 days later) (8:30 AM) I woke up with my head feeling heavy. 'What kind of sleeping pill did they give me last night...?' I thought to myself. I noticed Sephiroth was still asleep, curled up in the chair like a kitten. I smiled and began to review my memories of everything that had happened. I shuddered as I remembered Hojo, the Yuffie imposter, and my torture. The doctor came in after a while to release me. "Good-morning, Ms. Gast. How are you today, my girl?" "Shh!" I replied, motioning to Sephiroth. He nodded. "I'm feeling much better. So, can I leave today..?" I asked anxiously. Sephiroth stirred and opened his eyes slowly. "Good morning, Mr. Alexandros." "Good morning." "In answer to your question, yes. You can leave whenever you're ready. Just make sure you don't allow yourself to get tortured like that again. Due to the enormity of your transfusion, the materia in your body stimulates your magic capabilities. Now you can use spells without having the materia anywhere near you. You are the only woman to ever survive this operation." "My God...." I whispered. The doctor nodded. "Dr. Wright, report to the OR immediately. Dr. Wright, report to the OR immediately," droned the intercom. "I must go, you may leave anytime. Good- bye, Ms. Gast, Mr. Alexandros." We nodded and he ran out of the room. I went to my pack and withdrew some clothes. I went into the bathroom to change. *******  
  
(1 hour later) (Highwind meeting room) "I want you guys to have my materia," I told Aya and the timetravellers. "WHAT!?" asked Crono. "I don't need them anymore." "Danielle, are you alright?" asked Cloud, from the commander's chair. "Of course I am. You don't believe the fact I don't need them anymore..? I'll prove it." I stood up and led everyone outside and found a herd of Dark Dragons nearby. I handed my sword and gold armlets to Sephiroth. "She's going unarmed!?" said Brandy in suprise. "Sephiroth! Aren't you going to stop her!?" asked Cloud in anger. I walked into the midst of the herd as the dragons began to notice me. "You have the only Knights of the Round materia, correct?" Sephiroth asked Cloud. The blonde man nodded and turned his attention to me. 'Knights summon,' he told me mentally. I began to move my arms the way I did when I summoned and the group noticed the multi-colored lights of a summon spell before I shouted, "Ultimate End!" The 13 knights appeared and used various magic and attacks and killed off most of the herd. "Who has Ultima?" asked Sephiroth. Cid raised his spear a bit. 'Ultima.' I nodded and shouted, "Ultima!" as the green aura of magic surrounded me. The spell looked like a nuclear explosion of green light and power and killed off the rest of the herd. "She's like a human materia!" said Rufus, his eyes glinting at the millions he could make off of me. "Don't even think about it, Shinra," said Barret. Rufus pouted slightly as I began to return to the group. "Can I have her?" asked Yuffie. "Nope, No one is going to use her. Those powers belong to her alone and if I find out that anyone uses her for those powers, they'll deal with me," threatened Sephiroth, looking at Rufus. I retrieved my things from Sephiroth and took out all of the materia from my sword and armor. I gave Alexander and Mime* to Crono, Comet and Seal to Marle, Restore and All to Lucca, Fire and Barrier to Robo, Ice and Gravity to Ayla, Lightning and Confusion to Frog, Enemy Skill* and Time to Aya, and Poison and Transform to Magus and one HP plus to each of the above mentioned. (Note: The *ed materia are Mime and Enemy Skill in that order.) It was all mastered. They looked in awe- "Awww...." they said. (Goddess Aeris: AWE! A- W-E!!!) "Oooohhhh..." (Goddess Aeris: That's better.) "Thanks Danielle," they said. There was a roar. "Heads up!" shouted Cloud. "Falcon hit!" Crono shouted. Ayla motioned to Crono and he ran to her. She threw him up in the air and he flew by the dragon's head slashing into it. It roared again and died as Crono came to land by Yuffie. "Cool!" she shouted. "Thanks," he replied, "It took a long time to learn." We returned to the airship. ******* (12:30 PM) (observation deck) "When should we get married?" asked Sephiroth as we watched the clouds float by. I hugged him. "I don't know. I kinda want it to be a big wedding and I want everyone there... so maybe... sometime after this war is over..." He nodded and I let go. Something flew overhead and suddenly rammed into the other side of the ship. I lost my balance and flew over the railing. "Sephiroth!!!!!!" I screamed. "Danielle!" He ran forward and jumped over the railing after me as the rest of the team ran toward the front of the ship to see what had caused the accident, Cid cursing like a sailor the whole time... ******* "Danni!" shouted Sephiroth as we both fell toward the ground. He kept his arms by his sides and fell even faster and finally caught up with me. He hugged me close. "What are we going to do!?" I asked keeping an eye upon the approaching ground. Sephiroth closed his eyes in intense concentration and began to transform. "What the...?" I said as I let go. His legs transformed into enormous white wings with soft feathers. His right arm became a large black angel wing and a double halo appeared over his head. His eyes shone a brilliant shade of green and I knew.... "My God...." ....Sephiroth had become the one-winged angel, once more. 


	6. Chapter 6: Suprises

Chapter 6 Suprises  
  
"Danielle," said Sephiroth gently, "I need you to hold on to me. This is just another form of my body. I won't hurt you. I'm still the same Sephiroth." I nodded and he hugged me with his left arm and I put my arms around his neck. "Hold on tight," he said as he spread his white wings. It immediately slowed our descent and we stopped after the intial jolt of the slowing speed. He began to float higher. "When were you planning to tell me?" I asked quietly. "I wasn't planning on using this form ever again." I nodded. "I can understand that." We hovered over the deck of the Highwind. I dropped down and landed on my feet as he changed back to his normal form and fell as well. Then we drew our swords and ran off toward the sound of Cid cursing. ******** "Listen you bi^%$ ! No one rams the Highwind and lives to tell about it! I'm going to ram my spear so far up your ass it won't be funny!" cursed Cid. "Ohh... I'm so scared," taunted Eve. We came around the corner but she had her back to us and didn't notice. 'Should we?' asked Sephiroth smiling. I nodded and we ran forward as Cid used his Dragon Jump limit. Then we stabbed her in the back as Cid's spear went through her. I ducked. "Cid! Watch where you aim that thing!" I shouted. "What the Hell!?" screamed Eve as we withdrew our weapons. Sephiroth and I jumped and flipped over Eve and landed next to Cloud. "All present and accounted for," said Cloud, "Let's rock!" Everyone spread out around the deck and the battle began. Yuffie, Red, Aeris, Marle, and Lucca used their magic and materia to cast defensive spells on everyone and occasionally managed to get in an attack spell. Crono and Frog used their 'X- strike' tech. They ran forward and slashed an illuminated X across Eve's chest. She screamed and used a healing spell to re- coup the damage. I called upon a Fire 3 spell and made it strike the blade of Sephiroth's sword. He looked suprised as it absorbed the energy, then got the idea. "Fire Blade!" he shouted. He jumped up into the air and slashed Eve down the middle as he fell. Eve screamed agan and used Combustion on everyone. "Healing Wind!" shouted Aeris. A gentle breeze wound it's way around the party, healing them. "Light Side!" I shouted. I raised my sword to the sky and it was filled with energy. I ran forward and slashed Eve, nearly servering an arm. The energy transferred from my sword into her and she flew off screaming that she'd get revenge. Everyone with guns stood on the deck and fired until she was out of sight. Aya even had a MM1 grenade launcher and Brandy borrowed a grenade pistol and they kept firing. Eventually, they quit and everyone fell to the deck exhausted. After a while, Sephiroth and I went to my cabin to talk. ******* "I hope I don't end up like Vincent someday... I did a lot of horrible things while in service of the Turks... I'm glad I met Danni and Marisol..." said Brandy. "Who's Marisol?" asked Tifa. "A friend. Oh, it must have been 5 years ago..." (flashback) A 15 year old Brandy was walking through the streets of Midgar. She had been having a horrible night...the rumors of Elena becoming a Turk fresh on her mind. She wasn't paying attention when... WHAM!!! She ran right into her older sister. "Elena!?" she asked. "Brandy!?" "Well, what do ya know, you actually made it to Turk! I'm proud of ya." Elena smiled, "Thanks." Another guy came up to them. "Who's the girl, Elena?" he asked. "Tseng, this is my little sister, Brandy. Her specialty is the whip. I think she'll make a good turk. You should try her out." Tseng shook her hand. "Hmm..." he said, "Maybe, you need a job, girl?" Brandy nodded. 'Anything to be near Elena again...' she thought. ******* (2 yrs later flashback time) "Welcome to the Turks, Brandy," congradulated Reno. "Thanks Reno. What's my first assignment?" "You must find and retrieve the youngest Ancient and the 1st class Soldier who escaped with her. They are Danielle Gast and Marisol Valenzuela. They are not to be harmed." "Sure thing!" ******* (3 days after that) "Alright, hands up!" said Brandy. "Uh-oh, Danielle! We've been found!" said Marisol. "It's ok.... she's not like those other Turks. She just needs to find a path in life..." I replied. "What would you care!?" said Brandy, gun drawn and whip unslung. "Because.... I want to be your friend.." I said gently. "Danielle..." "Hush, May." Marisol closed her mouth. "I'm so sick of Reno!" complained Brandy," But, I'll deal with it to be near my sister. She's my only family..." "That's understandable." "I'll let you go this time," said Brandy, "But, get out of Midgar and wait for me in Cosmo Canyon. I'll come if and when I'm sure of what I want. If I don't show up in 2 months, I'm not coming." We nodded and left. ******* "Well, I quit the Turks and lived with Marisol and Danielle in Cosmo for a while. Then, during the Meteor accident, Marisol went to help her mom out of Midgar. We haven't seen her since. I've wasted so much of my life..." Brandy soon left Tifa and went to her own room. ******* Magus stood on the outer decks of the airship, mainly doing what he did best: ignoring everyone. Lucca walked up to him. "What do you want, Ashtear?" he asked coldly. "Magus, what's with you? I know you're not the social type, but you need to at least get to know our allies." "I know their names and their strengths. That is enough for me. They have proven their strength to me and I respect them. That is the best you'll get out of me." Lucca sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if there's anything of Janus still inside you at all..." "If there was, I wouldn't look like this. I'm not Janus anymore. I'm Magus. Leave me alone." Lucca shook her head and walked away. "If Janus is truly dead," Lucca called out, "Then why search for his sister, Schala?" Magus thought about that. 'There are no remains of Janus Zeal inside me.... are there? ...Schala...' ******* (2:30 PM) I ran a brush through my tangled hair and pulled it back into a high ponytail. "Danielle, we have that meeting in a few minutes," said Sephiroth as he pulled on his boots. "I know, Seph. I hope we find them soon. I want to get back at Jenova for what she's done." "Danni, don't focus on revenge or it will consume you. Besides, if you keep this up, you'll turn into Vincent or Magus or me! I wouldn't like that. You have way too much spirit to have it contained like that." I laughed and tossed my hairbrush at him. "Vincent's problem is that he hasn't moved on, after what happened with your mother. He needs to learn to let go of the past...but not forget. Magus, he either needs to learn the fact that Schala may be dead or needs to learn his emotions all over again. And you, you're just plain stubborn all around. There's no cure for that." I said laughing as I finished. Sephiroth mocked indignance and tossed my hairbrush back. I caught it and returned it to my pack and kissed him gently. "Come on, let's go," he said, holding my hand and pulling me along after him. ******* "Now we need to figure out where those three would go," commented Aeris as she sat at the table. "Somewhere where there are a lot of monsters to mutate," said Aya. "An easy energy outlet from the Lifestream," added Crono. "Someplace Jenova could defend without killing any of her allies," added Brandy. Cloud, Sephiroth, and Vincent looked up suddenly. "The Crater..." they said quietly.  
  
Suddenly, out of the ground, came a large beam of bright light. "Oh no..." I moaned. "What is it?" asked Barret. Cid pulled up a visual on the monitor and the group saw 4 towering figures rise from the ground. "Weapon has been recreated," I said. "Aquamarine, Garnet, Topaz, and Omega Weapon..." said Aeris. "Oh Shit!" cursed Cid. Sephiroth glared at him but the pilot pretended not to notice. Aquamarine dove into the waters near Mideel, Garnet flew off toward Cosmo Canyon, Topaz dissappeared into the ground near Wutai, and Omega began to take to the skies.  
  
"Oh crap!" said Nanaki. Everyone looked at the fire-red beast in amazement. "You're a bad influence, Cid." The pilot just smirked as Cloud began to lay out teams for the fight against the Weapons. "Nanaki, take Aeris, Brandy, Rufus, and Robo to Cosmo and defend it. Magus, Lucca, Vincent, Danielle and Ayla will go to Mideel with the sub. Go talk to Reeve in Junon. He was just elected Mayor so you should be able to get it. Barret, Yuffie, Marle, Crono, and Frog go back to Wutai and help Godo defend there. Cid, Aya, Tifa, Sephiroth, and I will go after Omega in the Highwind." Everyone nodded. "Good. Cid, head over to Junon and then the Chocobo ranch. That should cover transportation for everyone." Cid nodded and left to change course. ******* "Protect her with your life," said Sephiroth to Vincent after the meeting. "Trust me, Sephiroth. I will. I have no intention of letting her be hurt. Keep an eye on everyone. I'm not sure how strong the WEAPONS are, but we don't need to lose anyone before the final battle." "Understood. Thanks for everything, Vincent."  
  
"Danielle, are you alright? You look very pale," commented Nanaki padding over to me. "Yeah... I just had another vision...about the battle with Jenova." "Care to tell me?" he asked, genuinely interested. "Well, Jenova, Lavos, and Eve had combined into a huge, ugly creature. We battled for a little while, but Jenova and Eve decided to get me out of the way. They combined powers and created a poisonous dart. They managed to hit me in the shoulder and told me the dart would suck the energy from my body. While the others battled, Sephiroth began to pull out the dart... fighting the strong electric shock that came with it... That's when I woke up. It's exactly the same as the vision I had in the Ancient City. I don't know what happens. I guess...I'm worried. I know how strong Sephiroth and I are...but we all have our limits." (No pun intended.) "I understand... Have you told Sephiroth any of this?" The red beast asked. I shook my head no. "I can't. I'm not allowed to alter fate. It's one of the rules that comes with this power." "I'll tell him then." "You won't be able to. The Cetra will make sure of it." I began to sense tears in my eyes and Nanaki saw them. "I'll try to make sure nothing happens...ok?" "You can try...but...oh, I don't know. I'm going to lay down for a while. I'll see you later." Red nodded and I walked toward my cabin. 'This is a bizarre turn of events... I'd better warn him...' he thought, padding off. ******* (3:05 PM) I sat in the bathroom losing my breakfast and my lunch. 'I'm airsick...' I thought. "Danielle? Are you alright?" asked Tifa, through the door. "I'm ok," I replied, moaning, "I'm just airsick." I stood up and opened it. "You look pale. Maybe you should sit this one out, Danni." "No way. I know my limits. I'll be fine. You'd better get ready, we're almost to Junon. Then you guys are going after Omega." She nodded hesitantly and left. I lied down on my bed trying to fight my sickness. Soon the nausea went away and I began to gather my things. ******* Cloud waved from the airship deck as the Highwind left us in Junon. I waved back and turned to my companions. "Let's get to Junon and find Reeve. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day," I said. They nodded and we began to hike. Ayla walked beside me. "You ready to fight?" I asked her. "Ayla always ready. Beat Weapon and Lavos." I smiled. "That's good. I'd like to try a new double tech against the Weapon with you. Do you mind?" I asked. "Me no mind. Ayla like! Tell me more." I began to explain the moves as Magus pointed out the town ahead. "Almost there," he called back. I nodded and returned to explaining. "That good move. We do, beat Weapon. Me like!!" I smiled and we entered Junon. ******* "Ok, Yuffie's team will take the Gold Chocobos. Red, we'll airlift you to Cosmo since we're going that way. Good luck you guys!" said Cloud as the Wutai team left the airship. They went inside the barn, talked to Choco Billy, got the gold chocobos, and rode off. ******* We walked into the elevator for upper Junon and Vincent pushed the switch to start it up. "Does anyone know where Reeve's office is?" asked Lucca. "Cloud told me it is near the training center," I replied. "Then that is where we go," said Magus quietly. 'Vincent and Magus have to be related somehow...' I thought as Vincent just stared off into space. The elevator stopped and we began to walk though the streets. Vincent bought a new gun at a weapon shop and gave it to Lucca so she would be armed with her Wondershot and a Supershot ST gun, one of the best guns besides the Death Penalty. We eventually reached Reeve's office and we were ushered in as soon as the receptionest saw us. "Danielle! Vincent! Good to see you," said Reeve shaking our hands, "And who are these people with you?" "I'm Lucca. Pleased to meet you, Sir." "Me Ayla. You fight with rawbot?" Reeve looked confused. "She means robot. She's talking about Cait Sith," I answered. "Ohh... and you are?" He said, looking at Magus. "I'm known as Magus," he replied, looking out the window. "What is it you need?" he asked. "We need the sub, Reeve. We're going after Aquamarine Weapon before something happens to Mideel," I replied. He looked upset. "I can't let you do that. It is outlawed because it runs on mako energy and was used by Shinra." "Cid said he put it on gasolene! It doesn't run off mako anymore!" I answered. "I still can't let you take it. Sorry, Danielle." "I didn't want to do this..." I said gently as I concentrated, "Manipulate..." Vincent's eyes widened as the brightness in Reeve's eyes dulled and he unlocked his desk, reaching for the sub keys. He handed them to me and I motioned for the others to leave. They left. "You will have no memory of this when you awaken and we leave Junon." I used a Sleep spell, and began to walk out the door. "Sorry Reeve," I whispered. I shut the door gently and we left for the submarine docks. ******* Nanaki ran into Cosmo Canyon, his party right behind him. They saw Garnet Weapon trashing the place as the people hid. Nanaki's eyes blazed as he ran forward in his Blood Fang move. Energy swirled around him and he tackled the Weapon stealing some magic power. It noticed him and the others and turned, ready for battle. Aeris quickly used 'Seal Evil' to paralyze Garnet. Nanaki shouted, "Diamond Dust!" Shiva appeared and waved her arms at Garnet, freezing him in ice which shattered. Garnet seemed hurt as it swiped a claw in Aeris's direction. She countered with an Ice 3. Cold air surrounded Garnet and a spike of ice stabbed though it. "Keep with the Ice attacks!" shouted Brandy, using sense. "Alright," replied Rufus, using Ice 3 himself. Robo stayed in the back, near Aeris so he could use his heal beam on everyone. Garnet retaliated with an attack called Everlasting Flames. A raging fire sweeped across the entire party, causing a lot of damage. "I'm sick of this already!" said Aeris, using her Great Gospel, curing them and making them invincible. "Let's hit the big one!" shouted Brandy to Rufus and Robo. They jumped into formation and shouted, "Shocking Revelation!!!" Robo unleashed a major shock attack while Brandy and Rufus used their Ice spells to make the energy even deadlier. It fell upon Garnet and it recieved a 100,000,000 voltage shock to it's nervous system, effectively killing it. Nanaki jumped on his hind legs and howled, Aeris dusted herself off and sighed, Rufus just held his shotgun at his side and fixed his hair while Brandy snapped her whip and jumped into the air. "Let's go check for survivors!" said Nanaki, running off. Brandy pulled out her PHS and pushed a button. "Cloud, This is Brandy. Mission acomplished." ******* We snuck into the underwater reactor where the docks were and hid behind some crates while Magus scouted the area. When he returned, he didn't have a good report. "There are too many guards. Too many to fight off. I count at least 100." I sat in thought for a minute and looked up. I saw a catwalk overhead and got an idea. "Magus, can you get me up there?" I asked. He nodded and picked me up, using his levitation spell to float up. He set me down and floated back down. "What are you going to do?" asked Lucca. "You'll see. Come on!" "Danielle, don't do anything rash," started Vincent as they followed me toward the submarine bay. As they watched, I concentrated on a spell. "Sleep, All!" I whispered, loud enough for them to hear. The soldiers fell asleep at their posts. I motioned to the group to be quiet and told them to get to the sub. I climbed down the ladder, and landed on top of the sub. "Come on! Let's go!" I whispered. "Very clever," commented Vincent. I smiled. "Hold it right there!" said a familiar voice. "Oh no... Vincent, don't tell me that's..." "Yes it is," said Reno, stepping out of the shadows, "How nice to see you again, babe. You know, you're the only one who has ever gotten away from me." "Thank God for that!" I retorted. "Why are you here?" asked Vincent with deadly calm. "We're here because we have to guard this stupid ass sub since Zack never contacted us again," said Elena as she and Rude joined Reno. "Elena, no need to tell them our orders," said a man with long black hair, joining them. "Tseng!?!?!?" I asked in amazement. "How good to see you again, Danielle. Is your sister well?" he replied. "Very well," I replied stiffly, "My sister may have forgiven you for turning us over to the Shinra... but I haven't." I drew my sword. "I didn't plan to fight you... but I guess we still have some problems to work out," he replied. I growled softly. "I'll take the red-headed idiot," commented Magus, pulling out his DoomSickle. "Me take blonde," said Ayla getting into a fighting stance. "Looks like we get Rude, Lucca," said Vincent, staring at their opponent. Lucca nodded and drew her Wondershot. Tseng drew his Shadow Kitanas, Reno, his Shi nightstick. (Shi is Japanese for Death) Elena and Rude pulled out and loaded their handguns. Vincent got out his Death Penalty and took aim. ******* (These fights will be separated but at the same time.) Tseng vs. Danielle Tseng and I charged as the fight began. His swords streaked at me as I raised mine to block and attempted to counter. He blocked, raising his swords in an X- shape. I pulled out my blade and turned, holding my blade horizontally. He blocked again and countered, making a slash on my arm. I grunted in pain and switched my sword to my left hand. "You've gotten better... but you still can't match me." "Oh really?" I used a bolt 3 spell and made it strike my sword. I jumped into the air and used a new move I called Thunder blade. "You have gotten better," he said, "Wait a sec! You don't have any materia! How'd you do that?" "That's my little secret. And since we're on the subject of magic.... here's a parting gift for you. Ultima!!" A nuclear explosion erupted around Tseng and he fell, severely wounded. I held my sword to his throat. I looked in his eyes and saw quiet resignation to his fate. Normally, I would have killed him... but something snapped and I withdrew my sword. "Get out of my sight, Tseng. You'd better thank Brandy and Aeris someday. Brandy's respect and the fact Aeris likes you has saved you. Now leave." He nodded, sheathed his swords, and walked off. I sheathed my sword and jumped into the air. ******* Reno vs. Magus "Turk Light!" shouted Reno, aiming his nightstick and sending a ball of fire at the wizard. It didn't faze him in the least. 'Uh-oh...' Magus just smiled evilly and sent a Dark Matter at him. The black and white triangles appeared, causing a lot of damage. "That was worse than Shadow Flare!" shouted Reno, like a baby. Magus flew forward and slashed with his scythe. Reno blocked with his nightstick, and sent a charge into Magus' body. He flew back and Reno decided he'd had enough. He ran a hand through his hair, put away his nightstick, and ran off. Magus put away his scythe and let the wind blow his cape. ******* Ayla vs. Elena Ayla just jumped over another of Elena fire waves and landed a Triple Kick on her head and back. "You bad fighter. Reptite better than you!" smiled Ayla, jumping again. Elena knows when she's been insulted, even though she has no clue what a Reptite is... She raised her gun, but Ayla used her materia and cast Ice 3 on herself. "Ha! You froze yourself!" taunted Elena. "Me did on purpose!" She then landed an Iced Triple Kick on Elena which made her fall down. She shot a couple of bullets at Ayla, brushed her bangs behind her ear, and walked away. Ayla pumped her fist into the air in victory. ******* Lucca and Vincent vs. Rude Lucca stayed in the back, using her spells on Vincent's bullets. It was effective until Vincent got mad and transformed into Chaos. "Holy Shit!!!" shouted Lucca as she used a Napalm grenade on Rude. Vincent used his Chaos saber on Rude, who cured himself. He then retaliated with an Ice 3 to Lucca. It hurt her a lot but she used Cure 3 on both of them. Multicolored sparkles swirled around their wounds and healed them. Rude shot off a few more shots, looked at his watch, and ran off. Vincent twirled his gun and put it away while Lucca spun around and raised her Wondershot in the air. "Alright!" I said, "Let's get outta here!" We jumped into the sub and dove underwater. ******* Yuffie and her team jumped off their chocobos and ran into Wutai. Godo met them at the door to the pagoda. "Yuffie, that Weapon has destroyed the Da-Chao statues!! You must do something!" "That's why we're here, Dad. We'll take care of it." Here she looked to where the statues used to be. "Man! That was my favorite spot to meditate.... Topaz is in for it now!" They ran to where the statues used to be and there they saw the weapon, charging up one of his attacks. "Hold it right there!" exclaimed Yuffie. The Weapon turned and a giant ball of energy flew at her. Frog leaped up and pushed Yuffie out of the way and dodged the blast himself. "Thanks Frog!" replied Yuffie, summoning Leviathan. The huge water dragon appeared and sent a tidal wave over Topaz. It seemed crippled. Frog took the hint and began letting loose with his Water 2 spell. Crono and Marle teamed up to use Ice Sword 2. Topaz countered with a move called Rock N Roll. Many boulders appeared and landed on the heroes. "Cure 2!" shouted Marle and Yuffie. The two spells combined and everyone was healed. Frog and Crono teamed up and used X- strike. Topaz hit it's knees. Yuffie ran forward and used her 'All Creation'. The explosion hit Topaz and he hit the ground, disappearing in multi-colored lights. Yuffie jumped up and down, Marle and Crono pulled off their finishing moves, and Frog flexed his muscles. Yuffie pulled out her PHS and dialed up Cloud. "Cloud, Mission accomplished. Wutai is ok, but the Da-Chao statues are gone." *******  
  
I piloted the sub underwater toward Mideel. "Who brought the Underwater Materia?" I asked. "I've got it, Danielle," answered Vincent. "Ok, I really don't know how much further it is from here, but I'm guessing about a half-hour. Tell the others to get prepared, will ya?" I said. Vincent nodded and left the cockpit as Magus walked in. "Hi Magus, something bothering you?" I asked, immediately sensing his mood. "You could say that. Lately I have been sensing great energy from you, and I don't think it's because of your operation. You don't seem...entirely..." he answered. "Human?" I asked. "Yes. When you fight, you embody great power. How is this?" "Well, you're right. I'm not entirely human. I'm one of the people called the Cetra. We're a great race with extreme magical powers and the ability to speak with planets. We're normally healers by nature, but there are a few who are true warriors with great power and skills. I am one of these." "That is amazing... and intriguing. Is there any way to learn more?" He asked. "Yeah! When we get back to the Highwind, you can talk to Red, or Aeris. Red is a researcher from Cosmo Canyon, the best in info about my people or the Planet, and Aeris is my sister. She is more in tune with the Planet than I am, considering she's a healer. She can tell you many things." "Very well, I will leave you to prepare." "Ok! Hope I was able to answer your question!" I said as he left. *******  
  
Vincent and I used Underwater Materia magic to create a huge air bubble around the battlefield and also taking Aquamarine out of it's element, which made it harder for it to fight. "Go with the Lightning, Magus!" I shouted, starting to cast Bolt 3 over and over. Magus stated teaming up with Ayla using Volt Bite. (A/N: Hey, If Crono and Ayla can do that move, Magus can too!) Aquamarine was taking severe punishment, but it wasn't down for the count yet. It summoned a tidal wave and filled up the bubble with water! 'Crap! Our air supply won't last long! Maybe I can pull off that move with Ayla....' I thought in a panic. I motioned to Ayla who nodded. We used our new attack called Ultimate Energy. I used the power from my Light Side spell and sent it into Ayla who launched into her Triple Kick technique. She attacked the WEAPON and it fell to its knees. My lungs were screaming for air. I looked around for the others. Vincent was holding onto Lucca and breathing into her mouth, giving her some air. Ayla was flung away as she finished her kicks and she was swimming toward Magus. He was unconsious. 'Shit!' I thought, 'What to do....?' I summoned Knights of the Round and swam toward Magus. Lucca and Vincent swam over too. They made a motion showing that they were running out of air. The Knights continued to attack as we swam for the Sub. Ayla swam with Magus in her arms and Vincent carried Lucca. I opened the hatch and we swam into the airlock. I activated the drainage sequence. Soon we were standing in a huddle around Magus. "He's not breathing," I said. "CPR, Danielle! Quick!" said Lucca. "Me?" I demanded, "Why not you!?" "Just do it!" answered Vincent. I sighed and began breathing into Magus' mouth. "Breathe, Magus!" I shouted at him a moment later, "Damn it! Breathe!!!" I had an idea and I sent a charge of electricity through my fingers and into his chest. He gasped in pain and began coughing. I turned him over and let him cough up the seawater. "You alright?" I asked. He coughed some more. "I'm fine," he muttered. Lucca smiled. "Is the WEAPON dead?" I asked. Ayla walked in. "WEAPON gone. Strong magic. No see. Only pieces of armor." I smiled and dialed up Cloud on my PHS. "Mission Accomplished. Hey, Cloud? Never send me on an underwater mission again, ok?" Lucca and Ayla laughed as I hung up and went to the control room to take us back to Junon. 


	7. Chapter 7: Feelings, WEAPONS, and Dreams

Chapter 7 (Feelings, WEAPONS, and Dreams)  
  
Cloud stood at his normal position at the window of the airship, Tifa at his side. "Any sign of Omega?" asked Cloud. "None," answered Cid, "I've had the radar scan the globe. It's either moving too fast to be tracked or it's got a jamming frequency going on. I can't find it anywhere." Sephiroth looked up. "I can't sense it's power anywhere either. It's odd. Jenova must have gained control of it and recalled it or something. I have no idea where it is." Aya ran in looking panicked. "I found it!!!" she said. "Where!?" demanded Cloud, looking out the window. "Look down!" she said. Cloud obeyed and there was the hulking black figure, flying underneath the the airship to avoid the radar until it was good and ready. "Cid, Tifa, Sephiroth, Aya! Let's go!" commanded Cloud. They got their gear and ran out to the deck to take down the last WEAPON.  
  
"You know, these things need to be smaller!" grunted Tifa as her Limit Break was completed. "I know!" Aya answered, using Inferno. Bright flames licked the WEAPONS body and it roared in pain. "Aya, keep going with your Fire energies!" shouted Cloud. Sephiroth ran forward and sliced at the Planet's "protector" with the Masamune, but it had little to no effect. "Cloud, we are going to have to fight this thing the old fashioned way!" he said, letting the green aura of magic surround him as he let loose a Flare spell. The Weapon seemed crippled and it angrily swiped at Aya and Tifa with it's claws and released an attack called Flamesweeper. A torrent of flames raced across the battlefield, burning everyone. "Damn!" shouted Cid, "Who has the restore materia!?" Tifa let loose a Regen spell and Aya released her White Wind spell. The party was healed and they were angry. "Double Omnislash!" shouted Cloud. Sephiroth smirked. This new double tech was really a challenge between Sephiroth and his clone. He wanted to see if Seph could keep up with the attack and mirror it. Cloud completed his half of the move and Sephiroth ran forward, imitating Cloud slash for slash, effectively damaging the Weapon. It roared and clawed at Sephiroth, who dodged it. Cid leaped up into the air and used his Dragon Jump limit break.  
  
The Weapon slowly faded away and burst into multi-colored sparkles that surrounded Sephiroth's sword. The Masamune was upgraded to it's Ultimate Level and it's true power unleashed. Cloud then began recieving calls on his PHS: "Good work Brandy." "Good job Yuffie. Make sure you stock up before you come back." "You put Reeve to sleep, Danni!? Wonderful. Good work. You have my promise, I won't send you on anymore underwater missions. Come on back to Junon. We'll meet you there." "What happened?" asked Sephiroth. "Reeve was being an asshole and wouldn't let them use the sub. She used her new powers, put him and 100 soldiers to sleep, and nearly lost Magus and herself when the Weapon flooded the Underwater Bubble." "Is she alright?" "She said everything was fine. They're on their way back now. After they get back, we'll take a short break in Costa Del Sol. Then we'll go after Jenova, Lavos, and Eve," answered Cloud. They nodded and everyone split up to go relax. *******  
  
"Ok everyone," said Cloud, starting the meeting, "I figure we need a break to relax before we go after Jenova, Lavos, and Eve. So, we're going to go to Costa Del Sol and spend a few days relaxing. We will have to get a few rooms at the inn and Avalanche will stay at the villa. So, everyone get their gear and we'll be there in an hour." "Cloud, if I may ask, WHY did we have to fight the Weapons?" asked Marle. "Originally, the Weapons were created to be protectors of the Planet and wipe out the ones hurting it. But last time, Jenova and Sephiroth took control over them and they made a BIG mess. We didn't want Jenova and Zack to get a hold of the new ones." Sephiroth glared at Cloud and frowned. 'Does he WANT to get in a confrontation right now?' I thought to myself. 'You know, child, my son is always striving to surpass the failure clone.' 'Shut up, Jenova. I may share your cells, like Sephiroth, Vincent, and Cloud do, but I'm not your Child! I'm a Cetra and therefore destined to kick your ass.' 'Hold your tounge! Your "brother" will visit you soon. You'd better return with him or else I'll summon Meteor and kill you all!' 'Like hell I'd let you!' 'Such harsh words for your mother... I see I'll have to be more persuasive.' Suddenly, a strong electric current ran through my body, seeming to originate from my very cells. "Ahhh!" I screamed falling to my knees and holding my head. Sephiroth was at my side at once. "Danielle, what is it?" he asked. Cloud and the others looked concerned. "Pain..." I moaned, "Like lightning... Jenova..." 'Come to me, daughter...' 'No!' Another current ran through me, stronger than the first. 'Come to me... I'll stop the pain if you will just return to me...' "Jenova! Leave her be!" shouted Sephiroth, "I'm the one you should deal with!" 'Danielle, you know your true calling in life is to be a goddess... return and your quest for power and wealth shall be completed.' I moaned and held my head. 'I do not quest for power and wealth! Get out of my head you bitch!' 'Such harsh words for your mother... Return with Zack or face the consequences!' Jenova sent another charge through my body and finally receded from my mind as I slowly regained control of my body. "Danielle, are you alright?" asked Sephiroth. "Ow," I said smiling softly, "Remind me to keep a bolt ring on." Sephiroth smiled and waved off Cloud's attempt to help as he pulled me to my feet. "Zack's coming soon. Jenova demands that I return to the crater with him or else she'll summon Meteor and Lavos and Eve will destroy everything. I...I don't want that." I said. "Danielle, you're not going with Zack," said Cloud and Sephiroth at the same time. They glared at each other. "Oh, stop it! Seph, help me get to my room. I wanna go pack. Cloud, relax, he's not coming for a while yet and I don't plan to go anyway." Sephiroth picked me up and carried me to my room. ******* Costa Del Sol  
  
Magus, Aeris, and I sat out on the patio of the Villa talking about magic and other things. "So, how are your people any different than normal humans, and Zealians?" he asked at one point. Aeris smiled. "We're different because of our abilities to commune with the Planet. We speak to it, sense its needs and protect it. I am a Healer of the Cetra. I have more protection and healing abilities while Danni is a Warrior. She has more attacking and destructive power to elimnate the planet's enemies." "We have always lived in peace with the humans, but when Jenova came, she turned them against us and our people had to go to war with her. Most of our people died when we sealed her in the ground," I added. "And what about something like revivification? Can that be done?" asked Magus. "Depends on if the planet will allow it," I responded. "My sister, Schala died fighting Lavos. I was only 7 at the time and I was sent through a portal to 600 AD. I had to experience it again a few weeks ago, only this time, as a Prophet to my mother." "So THAT'S why you never have any fun!" I said. He frowned. Aeris closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and said, "The Planet says we'll need help. Schala has premission to be revived." She began chanting and a bright light appeared. A tall woman with blue hair and purple robes appeared in the light and stepped out of it. She opened her eyes and looked around. "Are you the ones who brought me back?" she asked quietly. "Yes. I'm Danielle, and this is Aeris. We need your help. Lavos is here in our world." "Lavos!? How?" she asked. "My friend Magus will explain. Please go with him. Magus, take her to see Crono and the others. I'll go shopping for equipment later. Schala, do you use any weapons?" I said. "No." she answered. "Alright," I answered, "Go on you two." Magus and Schala left. "Will he tell her?" asked Aeris. "I have no idea." I answered. *******  
  
(Costa Del Sol)  
  
I stretched out on the beach towel and sighed. "This is the life!" said Brandy, who was nearby. "Yeah," I answered, "But I can't wait to go kick Jenova's ass." "Now why would you want to attack Mother?" asked Zack, appearing in front of me. "What the...?" I stuttered. He smiled and raised his sword. He used the flat of the blade to knock Brandy out. "Brandy!" I shouted. I stood and backed away, unarmed. "Now now, Danni. Mother told you I was coming. We have some unfinished business, you and I." "Dream on, Zack. Do I look like your sex trophy or something!?" I retorted. "We'll see about that." I turned and ran, trying to make it to the villa. 'Seph!' I screamed, mentally,'Zack's after me! Help!' "You won't get away!" said Zack, giving chase. He threw something and hit me in the back of the head. I fell unconsious.  
  
"Danielle!" shouted Sephiroth as he saw Zack pick me up, "Let her go." "No. Come and get her.... if you can!" said Zack, vanishing. Schala came up behind him. "Who was that?" she asked. "That was Zack... and he just kidnapped Danielle. Go get Aeris and Rufus. I'll go find Brandy." Schala nodded and ran off. 'I'll come for you Danni... I promise.' *******  
  
(Northern Crater)  
  
The team was silent as Cloud and Sephiroth led the way through the Crater. A rock suddenly fell from the ledge above and the two drew their swords. "Stand Down!" said a female voice. A woman, around 20 years old, leaped from the ledge and landed before them. "Who are you!? Do you work for Jenova?" demanded Cloud. "No! My name's Marisol Valenzuela. I'm looking for Brandy and Danielle." Her long black hair was tied back with a blue ribbon that matched her tube top. She wore armlets full of materia and her guns glinted in the faint light. Brandy pushed through the group and came to stand at the front. "May!" she said, hugging her. "Brandy! Where's Danielle?" "Zack kidnapped her. How long have you been following us?" she asked. "Since Icicle Inn. You guys lost me when you went after the WEAPONS though." "And I never knew..." whispered Sephiroth. "Listen, you can come with us. We're going after Danielle. Stick with Brandy ok?" said Cloud. Marisol nodded and drifted to the back of the group with Brandy. *******  
  
Everyone gathered around Sephiroth and Cloud for last minute battle preparations. Materia was handed out, weapons checked and armor put into place. "This is the final battle," started Cloud, "Let's end this once and for all. First, we'll....." "We have no time for complicated strategy. Let's get Danielle first," interrupted Sephiroth.  
  
Sephiroth stormed into the room, ignoring Cloud's warning. He looked around and found Zack sitting near a wall. "Welcome brother." "I'm not your brother you ass. Where's Danielle?" "Up there." The wall began to glow and my body was illuminated. I was chained to the wall and unconsious. "Danielle!!!" he shouted. I did not stir. Sephiroth drew his sword and ran at Zack, anger clouding his judgement. While Sephiroth kept him busy, the rest of Avalanche ran in and Marisol aimed her sniper rifle from a ledge. A silenced bullet pierced one of my chains. My left arm hung limp. The rest of my chains were cut and I fell. Magus lept up and caught me. He returned with me to the rest of Avalanche. "Why won't she wake up?" asked Aeris. "I dunno.." replied Cloud, watching Sephiroth battle Zack. Zack soon lept up into the air and shouted. "Mother! They have come. Let us settle this, then go to the Promised Land with Lavos and Eve." Jenova, Lavos, and Eve appeared from the darkness. "This will be our final battle, Jenova!" shouted Cloud. "Lavos, it's your time to die! Quit screwing with our lives!" said Magus. "It ends here, Eve," added Aya. I began waking up as Aeris unleashed healing spells over me. I stood and drew my sword. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Jenova!" I shouted. "We shall see," finished Jenova. Everyone then lept into the fray.  
  
*******  
  
Cloud, Ayla, Cid, and Yuffie squared off against Zack. "Ahh, another one of my brothers. Care to rejoin us? You could be a god. Stronger even than Sephiroth..." he said. "You can't get inside my head Zack. I don't want to be a god. You're fixing to get your ass kicked," retorted Cloud. Zack held up his sword. "Recognize this, Strife!? It's the sword you took off of my dying corpse!!!" Cloud staggered slightly from the hurtful remarks, but Yuffie, Cid and Ayla ran up and began using skills to kick his ass. Ayla used her Triple Kick, Cid, his Highwind's missles, and Yuffie called upon her All Creation. Zack staggered and went up to fight Cloud. Their swords clashed back and forth as they tried to get the upper hand in the battle. They were stalemated. Yuffie threw a materia to Ayla and Cid raised his spear. "Cloud, down!" Ayla screamed. Cloud threw himself to the side as Yuffie let loose and Fire 3, Cid unleashed a Bolt 3, and Ayla used Ice 3. "Tri-Attack!" they shouted. The elements combined and Zack was sent flying. He hit the rock wall and Cloud ran up to finish him off. "Cloud," he said opening his eyes, "Tell Aeris...and Danielle... I'm sorry..." Cloud nodded and stabbed him. Zack closed his eyes and died peacefully. Cloud sighed and turned toward the battle with Jenova. *******  
  
Sephiroth, Frog, Nanaki, Aeris, and I found ourselves fighting Jenova. "Let's finish this!" I shouted. Sephiroth and I ran forward to attack as Aeris and Nanaki backed us up with spells. Their Fire and Ice spells hit our swords and we jumped up into the air and slashed Jenova. Jenova screamed and retaliated with a Red Light. I screamed as the flames hit me. I then released a Cure 3 spell over everyone. "You alright Danielle?" asked Nanaki. "Fine," I replied. Frog leaped up into the air bringing his sword up to slash Jenova, but he was smaked away by a tenticle. He slammed into the cave wall and fell unconsious. "I'll help him!" said Nanaki, running out of Jenova's range. I ran forward for another attack but Jenova saw me coming. I suddenly hit my knees in pain and dropped my sword as lightning ripped through my body. "Ugh... not again!" I screamed. Jenova's tenticle wrapped around my waist and lifted me up into the air. "Danielle!" shouted Sephiroth. "At last, I can finally get rid of you!" said Jenova, "You knew that you couldn't.... What is this I sense!?" Sephiroth nodded to Aeris and they quietly began to transform. "You're pregnant!?" Jenova crowed, "Hah! Now I'll kill you and your unborn brat!" She squeezed my stomach. "I wonder if it'll pop out if I squeeze hard enough...?" I moaned in pain. "Angel Wings!" shouted Aeris. Sephiroth became the OWA and Aeris transformed into an ArchAngel. Jenova saw them and threw me as hard as she could at the opposite cave wall. "Danielle!!!!" shouted Sephiroth. As I flew at the wall, I simply closed my eyes and prepared to meet my parents in the Lifestream... 


	8. Chapter 8: Fighting for Life

(Fighting for Life)  
  
It didn't happen. I was aware of being caught before I hit the cave wall. I opened my eyes and saw Magus, forehead bleeding, slowly carrying me back down to the floor. "Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded, casting Cure 3 on both of us. "Yeah," I said hitting the floor, "Thanks!" I then ran and returned to my battle.  
  
I found Sephiroth and Aeris attacking angrily at Jenova. I saw that a Supernova had hit and Aeris' Holy attacks had definitely hit the mark. Red and Frog were unconsious by what looked like an Ultima spell. I felt my rage growing. "Damn it, Jenova! Die already!!!" I shouted, leaping into the air and unleashing my strongest limit break, "Sword of Life!" I raised my sword to the sky and a giant beam of energy came out of it and into the heavens. I jumped into the air and brought my sword down, the beam hitting Jenova. I then slashed her about 10 times and jumped away. "Danielle!" shouted Sephiroth as Jenova's body fell to the ground, dead. He changed back to his normal form and ran over to me, pulling me into an embrace.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked worridly. I nodded. "I'm alright." "Why didn't you tell me you were...?" he asked. "I didn't know! I had an appointment in Wutai next week! I'm so sorry, Sephiroth..." I said.  
  
*******  
  
Crono, Marle, Magus, Schala, and Tifa squared off against Lavos. They launched into physical attacks to destroy the humanoid and the left bit. The Right bit, the core, used a strong magic attack against them and shut off it's defence. "Go Magus, Schala!!" shouted Crono. "Light Eternal!" they shouted. Magus unleashed his strongest attack, Dark Matter. It began damaging the core and Schala released her strongest spell, Light of Heaven. They combined and caused very heavy damage. Tifa launched into her limit combo. Crono and Marle used Ice Sword 2 and the evil parasite died. It fell to the ground. Magus flew up to catch me at that point and looked over at the battle with Eve.  
  
*******  
  
Aya, Rufus, Robo, Brandy, and Barret were fed up. Eve kept changing forms! They were currently fighting her ultimate form. "How much more!?" panted Barret after using his Catastrophe. "I have no idea!" answered Aya, using Inferno. Rufus, Robo, and Brandy used their Shocking Revelation on Eve and she still came back for more! She unleashed a few Horned Strangers and used Inferno on Aya.  
  
Brandy killed the monsters while Barret used a Cure 3 on everyone. Aya was royally pissed now. She pulled out an MM1 grenade launcher and she, Rufus, and Barret pounded on Eve with bullets and grenades until she hit the ground, dead. Everyone began walking to the center of the room. *******  
  
"Something's wrong. Why didn't the bodies dissappear?" asked Cloud. "Are we sure they're dead?" asked Brandy. "They'd better be. I only have so much ammo left!" replied Marisol. (She, Vincent, and Frog, and Nanaki had just been revived.) The walls began to glow with a single heartbeat pulsing through the room. "What's that?" asked Tifa. I listened to it and it dawned on me. "Cure everyone and pass out Ethers. Quickly." I said. They did so as the bodies began to glow and float in the air. They flew together and began to reform. "No..." said Sephiroth quietly. A roar was heard and Jenevos rose from the floor, ready to battle. 


	9. Chapter 9: The End?

(The End?)  
  
"Ssssso.... you foolsssss thought you would defeat usssssss?" it hissed. Everyone drew their weapons, but we hit the floor as pain hit us from the inside. "What is this!?" I screamed. "Eve's powers! They've been magnified!" Aya answered. "Now we have you... Cetra bitch!" Eve and Jenova combined powers and created a large dart. "No...." I whispered. My eyes widened as I realized that my vision was coming true. "Die!" it shouted throwing the dart at me. I closed my eyes. I couldn't move. I was going to die...  
  
I was suddenly shoved aside and a cry of pain was heard from where I was a moment ago. I opened my eyes. "Sephiroth!" I screamed. He stood there, the dart going through his chest. Everyone found they could move as the dart splintered and Sephiroth fell to the ground. I crawled over to him and pulled his head onto my lap. Vincent and Cloud appeared at my side.  
  
"That dart will suck out all of the energy in his body! Soon he'll be nothing but dust!" Jenevos crowed. The rest of the group grabbed their weapons and charged. "Sephiroth... no..." I whispered. He opened his eyes. "Cloud... Vincent... Look after Danielle... for me. Cloud... look deep within.... awaken dormant power..." he whispered quietly. Vincent and Cloud nodded and ran off to the battle.  
  
"Danni... please... don't cry. Take my pendant... so I can be with you... always." I nodded, tears slipping down my face. He weakly reached up and wiped them away. I reached for the dart. "Hold on. Maybe I can heal you..." I said. I grabbed it and almost immediately let go, due to the strong electric shock that came from it. "No...Danni." I shook my head and pulled again, fighting the shock, and ignoring the pain. Little by little, it came out and I threw it to the side, gasping. I healed the horrible wound a little as it began to bleed on me. "It's... too late... Danni..." he whispered. "No!" I replied, "I won't let you go!" "The...poison is...too deep... in my system..." I shook my head. He wiped away more tears and I grabbed his hand and held it to my face. "Don't leave me..." I whispered. "I never...will. I love...yo...u.. Dan.." he said, suddenly closing his mako- green eyes. "No!!!!" I screamed, "Sephiroth! Come back! Please come back!" I slowly put on his pendant, a dragon, and sat there crying. His body faded in multi-colored sparkles. I heard an explosion and slowly looked up, my eyes turning a dark blue. I stood up, drenched in sweat and blood, and grabbed my sword running at the evil monster. "You'll pay for this, Jenevos!" I screamed, "Even if I die trying!" My ruby moon pendant glowed as I let my long dormant power finally awaken as I ran.  
  
I began to transform. My legs were replaced by great golden wings. My hair braided itself around my head in a crown and beautiful silver wings appeared on my back. My eyes glowed blue angrily as I let my grief and rage strengthen my powers. "Wrath of the gods! Anger of the demons! Fulfill the promise made in blood! Destroy my foe! Show your anger for my love being slain! BURNING FLAME OF GREAT EXODUS!" I chanted. Magus looked up. "She knows the Great Exodus spell!? Everyone take cover!" he shouted. Everyone scattered as flames began to appear throughout the whole room. Jenevos began screaming as fireball after fireball left my hand. Eventually, the spell ended. I held up my sword. Jenevos still stood, barely. "Die!" I hissed. I flew forward, but I was overconfidant and a tenticle slapped me and sent me flying to the floor. Underneath me and the others, a giant blue timegate opened up and swallowed us.  
  
"WE'LL BE BACK!!!" I screamed as we fell in. Silence soon reigned... The only things seen in the aftermath were a silver and gold feather...fluttering in the darkness...  
  
Author's notes: And now you people want to kill me for the evil cliffhanger ending, right? Well.... It had to be done! I want to thank all of my reviewers (all 5 of you! LOL) for your support. I also want to thank my muses even though the lazy suckers took a 6 month break from my head!!! I want to thank Brandy and Samantha for inspiring me with this story and Root Beer! Well, while I write out the sequel, go read some of my friend's works! I also thank Borella for the idea of Danielle's transformation! 


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